My kingdom for a kidney

A message to my fellow seniors out there: don't forget to sign that organ donor card. At one time, once you were past a certain age, your spare parts were considered past their due date. Not any more. Not quite vintage, a bit worn perhaps, but still viable. Organs from people over 90 have been successfully transplanted, offering their recipients many more years of the good life. According to a story in the Globe, patients who accepted "an expanded-donor-criteria kidney had a 17-per-cent long-term lower risk of dying, compared with those who remained on dialysis or eventually received an ideal organ." "Expanded-donor" refers to someone who was old or diabetic or suffered from high blood pressure.

So sign the card, seniors. Considering Canadians suffering from kidney disease can wait up to 11 years for a kidney, and over 50 die waiting every year, you could save a life. And, what the hell, they won't be any use to you any more.