The Gift that Heals: Stories of hope, renewal and transformation through organ and tissue donation: Stories of Hope, Renewal Adn Transformation Through Organ Adn Tissue Donation - Tapa blanda

The stories in this book are about life coming out of death. A police officer, left for dead in a hail of bullets, can golf and fish again; a woman, whose lungs were at one time so diseased that she was dependent on oxygen, has since climbed 5,000 feet to the summit of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park carrying a 25-pound backpack; a man who was fighting for his life went on to become an Olympic champion. On one side, they tell of transplanted human organs and tissue transforming lives and, on the other, the inspiring selflessness of the families who donated them at the bleakest moment of their lives. The Gift that Heals is published jointly by United Network for Organ Sharing (www.unos.org) and the Nicholas Green Foundation (www.nicholasgreen.org). It was written by Reg Green, the father of a seven-year-old California boy, Nicholas, who was shot in an attempted robbery while the family was on vacation in Italy. The story captured the imagination of the world when he and his wife, Maggie, donated their son's organs and corneas to seven Italians. United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the non-profit membership organization that administers the U.S. organ sharing system and focuses on increasing organ donation through technology, education and research. In 2001, UNOS created the National Donor Memorial (www.donormemorial.org) to celebrate and thank America's organ and tissue donors and their families. For information on registering to become an organ and tissue donor, please go to the Donate Life America website (www.donatelife.net) or call 800-355-7427.

?Reg Green has a powerful story of his own concerning the agony and the ecstasy that is the world of organ transplantation. But the strength of "The Gift That Heals: Stories of Hope, Renewal and Transformation Through Organ and Tissue Donation," is that Green has presented us with a multitude of portraits -- reminding readers that the need is great, the choices painstaking, the rewards priceless. It is about everyday people and their confrontations at the confluence of life and death -- a most remarkable achievement.? -- James Hill, managing editor, The Washington Post Writers Group... ?When Reg Green?s son was murdered he might have been expected to retreat into grief; a bitter, diminished man condemned to a life haunted by the boy who was not there. Instead, he has worked tirelessly to promote organ donation. "This is a book about those who have received and given the gift of life and there is a golden light in it. Green has a skill with words and the journalist?s knack for making a story compelling. The book is a celebration of life; of decency; of hope; of a little boy, and his father?s commitment.? -- Llewellyn King, syndicated columnist and PBS talk show host. "Here are the faces behind organ donation: devastated families who, instead of turning inward in bitterness and despair, find the compassion to help others in desperate need, and organ recipients, who once at death?s door, now run marathons, start families and resume their careers. Their stories are riveting." -- Robert Kiener, Reader's Digest. "Reg Green probably knows as much as anybody on the planet about the rich, heartbreaking and transcendent realm of organ donation. He is also a fine, careful journalist and this combination makes this a most compelling and inspirational collection." -- Stephanie Salter, syndicated columnist.