Whether a miracle or not, transplants have become a vital part in the treatment of some medical problems, and because of them, many are able to lead healthy and happy lives. A chance to live is the greatest gift a person can give another in need of help; it is a very worthwhile cause. To many, organ transplants are nothing short of a modern-day miracle, and a tangible way of reminding us that life goes on after a loved one dies. Transplants are cost-effective, and generally successful. Unfortunately, organ donors, are hard to come by.

People need to be better educated about the need for organs. Currently more than 12,500 people are awaiting kidney transplants, and over 800 are waiting for heart transplants. In addition, almost 500 are on waiting lists for liver transplants, more than 150 for heart-lung transplants, and close to 100 for pancreas transplants, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Groups like U.N.O.S. match newly available organs with patients on transplant waiting lists. The money to be saved by use of organ transplants is astronomical. A cornea transplant which can sometimes completely cure a blind person costs $3,000, while the rehabilitation (teaching to cope with life as a blind person), costs $15,000. It costs $30,000 a year to maintain someone with kidney failure on dialysis (kidney machine), while a transplant costing the same will usually return the patient's strength so that he/she may return to a normal life. One year after surgery more than 80% of those people who would have died without a donated organ now lead almost normal lives.

Instead of increasing, organ donations have levelled off, while the number in need of transplants has climbed sharply. Due to a shortage of organs, transplant programs are relaxing medical criteria for donors and are even extending the length of time that organs can be stored before transplantation.

"It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." (Khalil Gibran).n