Mark's 6th grade class, in teams of 3, researches current news topics. They choose 2 or 3 topics, prepare a presentation and present it to the class every other week. Thursday is the day for Mark's team to present. After school today I asked him what topics he presented. He explained that one was about a baby who's life was saved because it received the donated heart of another baby. Then Mark said, "Those parents had to make a very tough decision." I agreed, but I didn't know then what I was agreeing to until I asked Mark why the baby heart donor died. He replied, "Because the parents donated its heart."
I didn't think he understood my question so I tried to clarify by asking, "I know its heart was donated, but why did it die? Was it sick or in an accident?"
Mark repeated, "It died because its parents donated its heart." Then it dawned on me that Mark really thought that the heart donor parents sacrificed their own baby to save another baby's life. If that were the case, the parents really would have "had to make a very tough decision" indeed!
I set the record straight and explained the whole organ donation process. I told him that if we knew that another 11-year-old boy would die unless he received a different heart, we would NEVER sacrifice Mark to give the boy his heart. He sighed and said, "Wow, that's a relief!"
3 comments:
I wonder if Mark was still thinking about Abraham sacrificing Isaac as he read the newspaper article!
You should have let him think that you were going to give one of his unnecessary organs away like his spleen, maybe he would have done more housework! (Kidding-mom).
Some things are better left un-explained...now you've lost your vantage point! :) Has he heard the old Seminary story about the brother giving his sister a blood transfusion?
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