THE POINT

September 22, 2007

Odessa Police Department Cpl. Abel Marquez died coming to the aid of two of his fellow officers. But his service to mankind didn’t end there, thanks to a decision he made long before the fatal confrontation.

Marquez chose to be an organ donor. And so, after he died from his wounds, a part of him enriched the lives of people that he never knew.

Because of the police officer’s generosity, two people got new kidneys and another received a liver transplant.

Marquez could live on for years, as have many other donors who shared their vital organs and various tissues after their deaths.

What’s more, it’s a relatively simple procedure to join Marquez as a donor.

Now it is a matter of choice, both individually and from a family standpoint. But anyone who is contemplating the matter can research the matter by contacting Southwest Transplant Alliance at www.donate lifetexas.org.

It’s as simple as signing up online with the new Glenda Dawson Donate Life Texas Registry or designating your donor status when you renew your driver’s license at the Texas Department of Public Safety.

As the transplant alliance is quick to point out, a donor can affect as many as eight lives through organ donation and enhance another 50 lives through tissue donation. And it’s also a fact that more than 7,000 people are waiting for a transplant in Texas.

While many people have trouble contemplating donation because they don’t want to confront end-of-life possibilities, the way the Marquez family viewed Abel’s decision offers a lesson. They are proud that he continues to help others, a role he relished as a police officer, and that decision to donate was mentioned prominently and proudly at his funeral.

Marquez will forever be remembered as a hero for his actions under fire. But he also was a quiet hero for offering his body parts for use by others.

That second form of bravery is available to nearly everyone if they choose to be an organ donor.