For Kerry Shannon of Darien, the decision to give up a kidney was really a “no-brainer.”
    In 2001, the healthcare consultant’s organ went to her ailing father, because, as she reasoned, it’s not like she didn’t have two.
    “I’m in favor of anything involving organ donation,” Shannon said. “Why would you put something in the ground that could save a life?”
    This experience and her role in the medical field drove Shannon to sign up for LifeSharers, an organ registry that requires members to donate their organs upon their death.
    Registration with this nonprofit organization also mandates that members agree to donate organs such as kidneys, livers, hearts and lungs first and foremost to other LifeSharer members.
    “I kept reading stories about people dying waiting for transplants because organ donations were low, so I thought about starting up something where you had to be an organ donor to get an organ,” said David Undis, who founded the legal nonprofit, LifeSharers in 2002 in Nashville.
    It’s easy enough to join the national network. Visiting www.lifesharers.org, individuals only have to supply their name and address. After 180 days, they become full-fledged members.
    No fee exists, age is of no consequence as adults can sign up their children and there’s no need to conceal pre-existing medical conditions since the organization does not require members to be in good health.
    “It’s sort of like pre-transplant insurance,” Undis said. “You have a better policy if you’re a LifeSharer.”
    Upon registering, the site provides documents, such as a LifeSharers donor card, explicitly stating the member’s intentions to donate to others in the network.
An exemption exists allowing donations to family members not in the network, should the need or circumstance present itself.
At the time of death, if organs have been deemed viable by medical staff, the next of kin would call the network’s hotline, 1-888-ORGAN88, where a list of member medical information is maintained.
“We would give the person on the line the names of members who are the best medical recipients,” Undis said.
    If a suitable person was not found, the organs would then become the responsibility of the state organ procurement agency, Gift of Hope. To date, LifeSharers has yet to have a member die whose circumstance befitted organ donation.
    “Of all the deaths that take place, less than 2 percent occur in a manner in which organ donation may be possible,” said Kim McCullough, spokeswoman for Gift of Hope.
    The state organ donation organization, located in Elmhurst, works with 183 hospitals and serves 11.7 million people living throughout areas of Illinois north of Springfield and northwest Indiana.
    The agency has more than a few misgivings about the LifeSharers system, McCullough said.
    “From the official donation community, there is real concern about providing organs to people who aren’t necessarily the sickest,” she said. “We worry about any process that exists on the outside, and LifeSharers is a group that doesn’t have a formal role in the allocation service.”
    In defense of the organization he founded, Undis said, “Organs are not given to the sickest people (via government-run bodies). That’s just a smokescreen. A lot of factors are considered besides how sick you are, including your ability to pay (for treatment), where you live and how old you are.
    “Secondly, it’s the legal right of organ donors to say who gets their organs, and I’m sure (state agencies) don’t want to be telling Americans that their organs may go to someone who isn’t a donor themselves.”
    Under way is Gift of Hope’s own campaign to bolster numbers in its Illinois organ registry. The registry, which has been in place since January 2006, declares unequivocally the intent of donation.
    “Up until 2006, you could go to the (Driver Services Facility) and declare intent to be a donor, but hospitals still had to get consent from family,” McCullough said. “The registry establishes that, if the time comes, your wishes will be carried out.”
    To secure first-person consent, residents of Illinois must visit their area Driver Services Facility, call the Secretary of State department at (800) 210-2106, or log on to www.iamareu.org.
    Registration with both the state and LifeSharers is accepted.
    What’s not accepted as far as Shannon is concerned, is neglecting to sign up at all.
    “Being an organ donator is sort of criteria for being close to me,” she said. “I’ve asked a lot of people who refuse to be organ donors ‘Would you be willing to give up the opportunity of a transplant if it meant your life?’ No one’s ever said yes.”