Register to be an organ donor

Three people are alive today thanks to the late 17-year-old Robert Bush and the generous decision made by his family.

Bush, a rising senior and Newfield High School football player who collapsed during conditioning drills last week, was kept on life support until his organs could be donated. Three residents of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts — each on a transplant list, in dire need — received Bush's liver and kidneys. As Bush was wheeled into the operating room, community members and his fellow football players filled the halls of Stony Brook University Hospital and spilled onto the outside grounds, honoring their friend, teammate and family member.

Now, all of us can honor him and the way the Bush family confronted this tragedy.

More than 100,000 people nationwide, including nearly 9,000 New Yorkers, are on a transplant list, desperately waiting for an organ, mostly in need of kidneys. About 20 people seeking a transplant die each day. But fewer than half of New York residents age 16 and older are registered organ donors. New York has consistently held the lowest rate of organ donation in the country.

Let's change that.

New Yorkers have seen their share of adversity — and respond in force every time. After tragedies like Superstorm Sandy or the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, residents were ready to donate food or clothing or blood or their time, to give however they could. When a neighbor needs assistance, we're there. When family or friends call us for help, we run.

Why then do so few of us sign up to act as organ donors? Perhaps it's because we don't want to think about the circumstances in which we might actually be donating, about a tragedy like that which befell Bush. Perhaps we're stuck on the religious implications, although every major religion generally supports organ donation. Or perhaps we just assume — erroneously — no one will really need our livers or hearts or eyes or kidneys.

By signing up now, you could one day give multiple families years together they otherwise wouldn't have. You could someday help people to see or to function without being tied to a machine or to live full and complete lives. You could change lives. You could save lives. Just like Bush did.

Bush was one of 10 siblings. He was beloved and will be missed. But he will live on — in his family and friends and in three strangers who now have lifetimes in front of them they weren't sure they'd have. And Bush's impact can grow exponentially.

When you get or renew your driver's license, check the donation box. Better yet, don't wait. Fill out the online form now at https://donatelife.ny.gov/register/. And don't forget to tell your family of your decision — and ask them to honor it.