Organ donation?  I know, I know, it has nothing to do with writing.  Unless you happen to be a writer in need of an organ, or perhaps a writer who is planning to donate an organ.

Anyway, the reason I’m writing a post about organ donation is because the blogging directory and network BlogCatalog is doing this really cool thing today.  They have organized bloggers to raise awareness about the issue of organ donation.

Why organ donation?  Perhaps because of figures like these:  170,000 in Europe and the United States waiting for organ transplants; 1,700 in Australia; 50,000 in Latin America; 2 million in China.  The sad truth is that without an organ transplant, these people will die.  For more information on the breadth of the problem, go here.   

If you’d like to read an interesting piece about the growing problem of the black market for organ donation, read this article in Slate.  In some parts of the world, poor people are being encouraged to sell their organs on the black market.

It’s so easy to become an organ donor.  In many places, all you have to do is note your intentions on your driver’s license AND be sure to tell your family your intentions.  For more information on organ donation in the United States, click here.

Many thanks to the great people at BlogCatalog for organizing this blogging campaign!