Sunday, January 18, 2015

Peanut Allergy is Contagious Through Organ Donation!

I used to have a little red heart on my driver's license.  The small heart indicated I was an organ donor.  In the event of my death, my organs were to be distributed to people who needed them.  I was happy about this.  It was to be my final act of compassion to heal people with my spare parts.  I can't say that I was looking forward to it, but I liked the idea of donating my organs to sick patients desperately needing them.  I would be dead, sure, but at least I could be useful to others in a healing way.  

When I had to get my license renewed, I had the little red heart taken off.  I want to donate my organs to people who need my help, but I do not want to give them my peanut allergy.  Which organ recipient will get my allergy?  No way to tell.  I don't want to play 'peanut allergy' Russian roulette with someone else's life.  I want to end people's suffering, but I don't want to give them my level 5+ food allergy.  Avoiding peanuts in this society is really hard, inconvenient, and it can be frightening.  It is a real pain in the ass, and I don't want to give this to someone else.  

Here are some interesting links to articles detailing how transplanted organs (and bone marrow!!!) can spread peanut allergy:






There are lots and lots of science articles like this.  It seems like the donor not only gives the recipient their organs and a second chance of life, but also their anaphylactic food allergy, and a drastically changed inconvenienced life of avoidance and fear.  

I'm going to go with what the science says.  I don't think it's a good idea to donate my organs.  What if the recipient of my organs really liked to eat at Thai restaurants?  That would really suck for that person if they got my allergy.  No Thai restaurants ever.  I don't want my organs being responsible for making someone else's life suck.  My peanut allergy is going to end when I die.  I'm not giving this the opportunity to live on in someone else.  

I think that I am making the compassionate, responsible decision.  I am basing my decision on science.  But it still kind of sucks.  I would like to donate my organs, but it wouldn't be ethical to give people my disease.  

So if you are reading this post and you don't have a deadly peanut allergy: rejoice!  Rejoice at the freedom you have to help people with your organs after you die.  Take a look at your driver's license, make sure it has that little red heart, and just to be on the safe side, send a 'just-in-case' email to your loved ones and next-of-kin and joyfully proclaim your compassionate intention to donate your organs to help sick patients who need them and are suffering.  

I wish I didn't have this unpredictable, deadly disease, and I wish I could be an organ donor.  I hope that you will consider donating your organs if you can.  Thank you for reading, and please share this post and subscribe to my blog.