LIFE after death is a concept usually left to those with religious beliefs and Hollywood script writers.
In any event, once we've done with our bodies they are usually burned or buried by those we leave behind.
In some instances, that's a waste. Imagine a classic car towed to the wreckers. It's body and engine may no longer be fashionable but, before it is thrown in the crusher, a savvy mechanic will recognize value in some bits and pieces that other classic collectors may need.
If you can think dispassionately about your body, it's easy to understand that others may have need of your organs if you are not going to be using them.
A record-setting 306 organs were transplanted in B.C. in 2012. That number, according to BC Transplant, included 16 hearts, 25 lungs, 65 livers (seven from living donors) and 194 kidneys (83 from living donors).
The wait-list time for a lung transplant has dropped from almost 11 months to three and a half months. The average wait time for a kidney has also improved - but it is still almost four years.
Eighteen British Columbians died in 2012 awaiting life-saving organs while approximately 480 people await a lifesaving transplant.
BC Transplant says 85 per cent of British Columbians agree with organ donation, yet only 18 per cent have registered their choice with the organization.
If you read our Sunday story, 'Perfect' Is a Good Word, and were touched by what the Westerlund family has endured, if you have always 'meant' to be a donor but put it off, visit transplant.bc.ca and register. You may be saving a life.
