In the Winter/Spring 2002 issue of On the Beat, a publication of the New York Organ Donor Network, the Reverend Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Senior Minister, The Riverside Church of New York City, wrote that "…becoming a donor takes on sacramental meaning. Organ and tissue donation is considered to be the ultimate humanitarian act of benevolence." Click here for full article.

Medical technology which has made organ and tissue transplantation possible opens up new opportunities for human beings to become partners with God in sustaining and extending the precious gift of life. The fact that we can donate an organ while we live without compromising our health should lead us to exclaim: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." (Psalm 139:14 NRSV) Even death cannot prevent us from making a magnanimous offering of new hope for those desperately clinging to life until an appropriate donor has been identified.

Some of the most touching moments of human compassion are associated with organ and tissue transplantation: a mother to a child, a sister to a brother, a neighbor to a neighbor, and stranger to a stranger. Dr. Wyatt T. Walker, Pastor of the Canaan Baptist Church of New York City and former Chief of Staff for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., loves to preach about such an event, which for him became a moment of revelation. He tells of an interview he saw on national TV following a fatal mass shooting at a school in Paducah, Kentucky. The reporter asked the mother of one of the slain students what her first thoughts were after being informed of the shootings. The mother said she rushed to the hospital hoping that her daughter had survived. "And after you were told that she had passed, what was your next thought?" The mother said, "I hoped that it would be possible for someone to receive the gift of life from her through an organ donation." The little girl was white. Interestingly, the best friend of the little white girl was a black girl. They called each other "my twin sister." It turns out that the little girl's heart was donated to a black man. When the mother was finally able to visit the gentleman who had received her daughter's heart, she had one request: "May I place my ear on your chest so that I can hear the heart of my wonderful daughter?" Perhaps heaven was also monitoring that episode of sublime human love.

As wonderful as such moments are some persons are still not sure if offering an organ is compatible with the demands of their faith. Is it pleasing to God to give part of oneself in this way? Shouldn't we strive at any cost to keep intact all of the parts of the body God gave us? Will we be less whole if a part of us is missing in the "great getting up morning"? Is it mutilation of the flesh to allow some one to take one kidney when the Lord gave us two?

It may be surprising to some to learn that with only a few exceptions all of the major religions affirm and celebrate the godliness of organ and tissue transplantation. Words like caring, sharing, compassion, and sacrifice are at the heart of true religion. The cross, a central Christian symbol, is about Jesus giving himself for the salvation of the world. John 3:16 says, "God so loved the world that God gave his only son…" With this understanding, becoming a donor takes on sacramental meaning. Organ and tissue donation is considered to be the ultimate humanitarian act of benevolence.

As a protestant minister I think of the following perspectives as I respond to questions regarding organ-tissue transplantation.

	1.	Each person of faith needs to order his or her behavior to confirm to a spirit-guided and biblically-nurtured conscience. "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." (Rom. 14:23) It is helpful for members of our congregations to discuss the issue with their leaders and to form a solid sense of what is appropriate. Theological discussions in our communities of faith tend to lead to a strong encouragement of organ and tissue donation.
	2.	One should not expect proof text from the Bible on this issue. Transplantation was not even a possibility at the time the gospels were being written. There were many things Jesus did not address directly. It is the Holy Spirit who leads us into the ways of enlightenment on matters, which have surfaced in our time. The spirit of generosity and sacrifice are encouraged in all seasons. Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Holy deeds of generosity are to be commended.
	3.	The opportunity to donate organs and tissues may be one of the most effective ways to counteract the pervasive selfishness of these modern times. The golden rule urges us to think and act from the perspective of what we would desire of others if we were similarly situated.
	4.	Christian commitment calls us to show respect for the sanctity of the body. A loving sacrificial offering of the gift of life is a holy honoring of our flesh and blood. To be able to live as good stewards of our bodies, then to extend the lives of others reveals something of the nature of our heavenly parent and our lord, Jesus Christ.
	5.	Romans 8:28 reminds us that in everything God is at work to bring good out of whatever happens. It is not appropriate to claim that God wills all the tragic events, which result in the death of any of us. Nevertheless, in such tragic circumstances, there is the good of organ and tissue donation, which upstages the evil, which has occurred. Finally, so much of life is lived as if our own individual well being is of ultimate significance. Before God, each life is precious and deserving of respect and care. But we are not only individuals before God. We are a family bound by love and mutual care. Organ and tissue donation gives dramatic witness to our interconnectedness. The first citizens of our nation, Native Americans, understood this. Perhaps we will be willing to sign a donor card or make as an organ tissue donation when we recover the spirit of Chief Seattle who inspired Ted Perry to write:
		This we know. All things are connected Like the blood Which unites one family… Whatever befalls the earth, Befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; He is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, He does to himself.