Donation

The ironic thing about praying for an organ to save someone's life, in most cases, is that you're also praying for someone to die. I can't say I blame anyone. That other person has nothing whatsoever to do with them; they've never heard of them; they don't know they exist. They're probably sitting at their breakfast table right now planning out their day and expecting a very exciting many, many years. But they'll walk out the door in an hour or a minute and turn on their car to go execute their exciting plans and things won't go as planned because there'll be a collision and their many, many years will turn into the plans of hoping for many, many seconds, then many, many moments and then they won't think anything at all. Somewhere out there there's a person sitting in the visitor's chair of a hospital room waiting for someone they love to die, not putting much hope in a miracle. But the doctor will come in, or whoever it happens to be who tells them that they've found a kidney or a heart or whatever organ it is they've been needing. And they won't think "Oh, that poor family; oh, that poor person." They'll think "Thank G-d, it's a miracle!" without a second thought to the unknown martyr.

If I'm ever put in this position, which hopefully I'll never be, I'll make sure I grieve along with celebrating. Or I'd hope to be the donor.