Controversial? Yes. Upsetting? No doubt. Worth making a decision that could extend the life of a great person? Absolutely not.
I'm talking about a story Patrice Walsh worked on for several days.
Inmate Kenneth Pike, 55, is serving a 40 year prison sentence for rape and sodomy charges. A child was his victim.
Pike is in need of a heart transplant. Some think he doesn't deserve a new heart given his criminal actions much less having that paid for at the cost of the state.
The thing that bothers me, is hearing people say, "That's why I'm not an organ donor."
Those people never met Shane Colligan.
Shane was one of my best friends and one of my roommates in college. He got dealt a bad hand from the start. He was born with a three-chamber heart, instead of a four-chamber heart. Shane got a pacemaker at age 5, and a heart transplant at 13.
He could have been angry at God and the world, with a "Why me?" philosophy. Instead, he cracked jokes. He made people smile. His kindness and energy was remarkable.
Just before my junior year, I got an e-mail from Shane's sister. His heart was showing signs of rejection.
He needed a new heart.
At age 19, he was fortunate enough to get that heart. While completing classes at St. Bonaventure University via the computer, Shane turned into his old self again. He was back at college, ready to take on the world with his passion for journalism and love of life.
On March 20, 2003, Shane went to bed at his campus apartment. He never woke up. The heart rejection, diabetes, and other medications that kept him alive, took a toll on his kidneys. He was 23 years old.
3,500 people receive heart transplants across the world every year.
Before you decide whether or not to become an organ donor, please think of this.
I'm willing to bet there are a lot more Shane Colligans in this world than Kenneth Pikes.
Jason Dusett, Producer
jdusett@13wham.com
