Schiavo case leads to questions by Iowans

Terri Schiavo died this morning. The case of the brain-damaged Florida woman has pushed many Iowans into action. Paul Sodders, spokesman for the Iowa Donor Network, says in the past few weeks, they’ve seen a healthy uptick in the number of Iowans signing up to be organ and tissue donors. Sodders says the network’s hotline has also been flooded with inquiries from Iowans who want to know the legal differences and definitions of brain death, vegetative state and coma. He says people are educating themselves about the issue, thanks to the publicity of the Schiavo case. Sodders says “It is such a sad case…it’s got a huge national impact. We know that people are just very interested in making sure that this type of incident never happens to them or anyone in their families. We have been encouraging people to make sure they’re filling out their living wills and that they’re signing on to the Iowa Donor Registry so their wishes can be carried out upon death.” For more information, call 800 831-4131 or surf to “www.iowadonorregistry.org”.