Half the usable human organs that become available in this region are wasted, a statistic Gary Anderson hopes to change.

Anderson plans will open a Jackson office of Mid-America Transplant Services of St. Louis if he can justify the need to the company. He hopes the presence of MTS, a non-profit company, will increase the number of organ, tissue and eye donations made in the area.

A registered nurse and certified transplant coordinator, Anderson now runs the transplant office out of the basement of his home in Jackson. He serves Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Northeastern Arkansas.

MTS reports that almost 41,000 people await organ transplants in the United States. Every day, Anderson said, eight or nine people die awaiting organs and a similar number are added to the list of people needing organs.

About 200 organs suitable for transplant are available in the three-state region annually, Anderson said, but only about half of those are used in transplants because family members refuse to allow the organs to be used.

He said many families incorrectly believe that organ removals are done in a morgue. "It's done with dignity and respect," he said, explaining that organs are removed by surgeons in operating rooms.

By law, the next of kin must consent to organ removal. A lack of education about organ donations and ignorance of the decedent's wishes often leads them to refuse.

The period following a tragedy isn't the time to educate family members about organ donation, Anderson said.

He is responsible for educating area civic groups and encouraging people to consider organ donations so that more organs are available to patients who need them.

"We did a survey in this area and found that many people aren't aware of organ donations and don't know how it all works," he said. "A lot of times, when asked about organ donations, families will say, `Oh, we never talked about it.' We encourage people to make a decision and share the decision."

Everyone should decide whether they want their organs, tissues or eyes donated, Anderson said. Even when they don't want to donate, they should make family members and others aware of their wishes.

"It's sort of like funeral arrangements: No one wants to think about it or talk about it," he said.

Many people think organ donation is contradictory to their religious beliefs, Anderson said, though every known religion except one endorses organ donations. "The Gypsy religion believes you need all of your organs to walk in the afterlife," he said. "That's the only one, and I don't think there are many Gypsies around here."

MTS arranges the transplants of many organs, including the kidney, liver, pancreas, intestine, heart and lungs.

"When you are in need of a transplant, your name is put on a list," he said. "And the first people on the list are the people that are a match in the same area. It's sort of a ripple-effect search. If no one in the area matches, then the search goes outside that area."

The list also indicates how badly the transplant is needed.

"If we lived next door to each other and were put on the list at the same time, but you were in the hospital and I was just taking medication at home, you would get the organ first," he said.

For heart transplants, the patient and donor also are matched by blood type, height and weight. Similar criteria are used for other organ transplants.

Anderson said very few people would be excluded from donating eyes or tissue, including bone matter used in reconstructive surgery and other procedures. The patient's age or the cause of death typically don't matter in eye and tissue donations, he said. "Usually, anyone can give."

Anderson requests consent from families and arranges for the organs and tissues to be removed. A team of surgeons from the hospital where the organ recipient will undergo surgery removes the organs from the donor.

"This all has to be done within a few hours," he said.

He plans to update medical care providers with the latest information about potential transplant patients, donors and dealing with MTS.

The Health Care Finance Administration oversees the transplant industry along with the United Network of Organ Sharing, the organization that certifies transplant companies such as MTS and surgeons.