Thesis Statement: I want to persuade my audience to donate their organs and tissues when they die and to act upon their decision to donate because the need is constantly growing for organ donors and it is very simple to be an organ donor when you die.
I. ATTENTION:
Credibility Material: How do you feel when you have to wait for something you really, really want? What if it was something you couldn’t live without?
Tie to the audience: One of the people on the waiting list for an organ transplant might be someone you know. Today I’d like to talk to you about first, the need for organ donors in our area, second, how you can become an organ donor after you die, and finally, how your family and organ donor recipients benefit from your donation.
II. NEED/PROBLEM:
A. People around the world need organ transplants and they need our help.
1. The need is many organs and tissues such as the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas, corneas, bone, skin, heart valves, and blood vessels.
B. A new name is added to the national waiting list every 16 minutes. That means that 3 people will be added to the list during the time we are in class today. The problem is that 10 people will die each day waiting for an organ transplant.
C. How can I make sure my organs are donated after I die?
III. SATISFACTION:
- Organ donation benefits both the donor’s family and the recipients.
If you do donate your organs, your family and the people who receive your organs might benefit in a similar way like this family.
Organ donation is very important.
- The following poem by Robert Test entitled, "To Remember Me," shows the importance of organ donation.
"Give my sight to the man who has never seen a sunrise, a baby’s face or love in the eyes of a woman. Give my heart to a person whose heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain… Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk…Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that, someday, a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of rain against her window
IV. VISUALIZATION:
- Sometimes the only cure for someone suffering and dying is to receive a new organ. Hearts, livers, lungs, skin, corneas and other organs are harvested from those who have just passed away. Those vital organs are put into the bodies of the living. Many will perish before they get one. Many will get a second chance at life.
- Someone who will surely die receives a new organ and has a chance at life. Under some circumstances, one death might result in the continued life of several people. Depending on the conditions at death and the proximity to a major medical center, many organs could be harvested from the same body.
V. ACTION (S):
- You can choose to donate any needed organs or you can specify which organs or tissues you wish to donate.
- This is how you go about making sure your organs are donated. Talk with your family about your decision. They will be involved in the donation arrangements when you die. If they do not know your wishes of becoming a donor, your wishes may never be carried out.
VI. CONCLUSION:
As you can easily see, donating your organs can be one of the most important decisions you ever make and also the greatest gift you could ever give.
I’ve told you about the need for organ donors in our area, how you can become an organ donor after you die, and finally, how your family and organ recipients benefit from your donation. You become a donor by talking to your family and making sure they know you want to be a donor, fill out and sign a donor card, and indicate your wishes on your driver’s license.
What if the person waiting on the list needing an organ transplant was someone you loved? Imagine if you had a brother or sister who had unexpectedly died and you were able to meet the person who received their heart, for example. Think of the satisfaction and possible comfort knowing that your brother or sister provided life for somebody else.
I’m going to leave you with a short message from Michael Jordan who is a sponsor for the Iowa Life Gift Coalition on Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness and appears in their 1996 brochure. "Please make the decision to become an organ and tissue donor. Remember: Share your life. Share your decision."
VII. Works Cited:
"Organ Donation." - Pros & Cons of , Positive Benefits of. Web. 18 Mar. 2012.
"Organ Donation: Controversial?" Yahoo! Contributor Network. Web. 18 Mar. 2012.
Gundersen Lutheran Hospital (Lacrosse, WI): "Life…Pass It On." Undated brochure. Iowa LifeGift Coalition on Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness: "Share Your Life, Share
