Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven
|
|
| Sunny Days in Heaven Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven |
|
|
Tuesday, April 23, 2002 Donation Amy Welborn has a blog (here) about a priest who donated part of his liver to a parishioner, that the man might live. (Livers can be partial and they are one of the few internal organs that can regenerate; although I don't know if that can happen if a sizeable portion is removed - which it must be for a liver transplant). The priest is portrayed as a heroic, good Samaritan. I've mentioned to Steven den Beste at USS Clueless my growing fear that we may be seeing the start of Donor guilt or pressure applied to people if they don't lend others that extra kidney, bone marrow, liver portion, blood and fluids (and even sperm or eggs). It seems that in the future, sympathy for someone who is ill won't be enough. We'll be asked our blood type and if we match. If we don't want our body sliced open or bones broken to extract marrow and healthy parts of ourselves removed, how soon before we're called selfish and callous people? It sounds callous now or cynical to suggest that the donating priest may be making a play for living sainthood with his "selfless act" when he discouraged the ill man's brother from donating part of his liver to his brother; saying that, "you have a family of four children." But I think these things are best handled within a family when possible. There is something too visibly "well meaning" about some acts; something too public and laudatory. As cruel as it may sound, something too much like praying loudly on the corner so that everyone may hear how religious you are; or contributing large sums and getting your family name plastered all over the church. Or maybe I'm just tired of seeing outward signs or a pretense of holiness where I have seen no inward signs of it. Many folks don't realize it, but some folks get just as addicted to doing "good deeds" as alcoholics to whiskey. Good deed doing makes people feel good. I've seen people neglect their families in order to do good deeds for strangers. Go figure. I see people neglect prayer for good deeds (or for trying to do "social justice") because prayer is hard for them whereas a good deed is an easy, physical act requiring little thought or difficulty. "Feed people for an hour on Thanksgiving Day? Sign me up!" In any event, it's no easy thing to undergo a major operation; and the transplant may not take which would always feel like a crushing blow. I don't much believe in applauding people, though, for their public acts since you never know the motive. "Why call me good? There is only one who is good." Furthermore In today's paper from AP, living organ donors outnumbered the dead last year. People giving a kidney or part of a liver surpassed those from dead folks "as desperate patients have turned increasingly to families or friends." If anyone knows a little bit about family dynamics, tell me that some folks aren't going to feel emotionally coerced. posted by Mark Butterworth | 12:26 AM | |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
 |
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
