Some Questions

 Good morning and welcome to this Thursday’s thought.

 Scot Pollard had a heart transplant last week.  For those of you who are in the know on things KU Basketball, Pollard was a big part of the KU basketball program in the mid 1990’s, and played for eleven seasons in the NBA following his graduation.  Due to a viral episode a few years ago that weakened his heart, it was decided that the only way out was to receive a transplant.  That happened last week.

Pollard is up and around, and is recovering well.  There had been some difficulty in finding a heart of the proper size, as Pollard is a big man at six feet eleven inches.  One was found, however, and he is getting a new lease on life, thanks to a donor whose identity has not been made public.

I’ve not had a transplant.  So I don’t know the answers to the questions I’m about to ask.  But I have to wonder if these thoughts go through the minds of those who HAVE received a transplant, whether a heart, a kidney, or some other body part.

In the midst of the joy of a new lease on life must surely come the realization that someone else has died, at least in terms of a heart transplant.  And that were it not for that death, the recipient of the transplant may well not be alive or have much of a future.  One life traded for another, so to speak.

Yes, I know that the life that ended did so inevitably.  That there was no cure…no recourse…no chance for survival.  But I have to wonder how the transplant recipient thinks about that reality, and if she or he does, to what extent.  And if so, how that reality colors the joy of a new life.  Are there periods of reflection, sadness, gratitude?  Does the recipient really understand the gravity and “life-and-death” of it all?

I also have to wonder if the recipient has a greater sense of service and “paying it forward,” as it were, knowing that either the donor or his family made a conscious decision to give…to give something a precious as life…to another whom they would never know.  I know that acts of service and generosity many times trigger at least a temporary increase of the same in the lives of those served.  I have to wonder if a transplant changes how a person thinks regarding service and generosity, especially the kind of generosity that demands extraordinary sacrifice of some kind, such as organ donation.

In short, does a transplant cause a fundamental change in the recipient’s outlook on life?  Is that person different in ways that are not only easily noticed, but permanent in nature?  And what are the recipient’s views on meeting the family of the one who gave the organ?  What would one say to the family, or to the person who donated, should that person be living?  What kinds of emotions would course through one’s soul at that moment?

I am grateful that I have not had to experience that kind of thing.  And in any event, I am old enough that such a thing would not be a medical possibility for me.  But Scot Pollard is not yet 50 years old.  He has a lot of life left, if his new heart keeps working without being rejected, and all else is good.  And he is not alone.  Transplants of various kinds…hearts, lungs, kidneys, livers, and so on are more and more common.  And there are better anti-rejection medications now than there were some years ago, resulting in fewer complications.

Medical science has come a long way over the years, and I’m sure will continue to progress in ways we can only imagine now.  But along with that progression, we need to keep in mind that we are treating human beings…people…individuals.  These people have another side to their makeup besides their physiology.  People are emotional, thoughtful, and cognizant.  We have hearts (not of the physical variety, but of the emotional kind), souls, and minds.  What is done in a physical way affects other areas of life and living.  And I would think that the recipient of new life through a transplant gift would be especially affected.

Thanks for listening.  Life can be complicated, even without all of the externals of politics, the world situation, and the various trials and tribulations that we see.  But that’s also one of the great things about life and living.  We aren’t robots.  We aren’t just existing.  Life has meaning and purpose.  And for that, I am most grateful.

I never answered my questions, but that’s OK.  Good things to think about even if you have never experienced something like a heart transplant.  Humanity could use a good dose of humility, gratefulness, and generosity about now.  Thanks for listening.

 Blessings,