Phil H. Berry Jr.

About the author: Phil H. Berry Jr. is a practicing physician and served as president of the Texas Medical Association from 1997 to 1998.

The organ shortage in the United States, which leads to the deaths of thousands of people each year, could be eradicated if Americans would overcome their reluctance to become organ donors. Polls indicate that a majority of Americans are willing to become organ donors, yet relatively few actually do so. Proposals to "presume consent" for organ donation violate individual rights, and mandated choice systems—such as those in which individuals must decide about organ donation when they get their driver's licenses —force people to make an important choice in an uninformed and rushed manner...