AN ILL WIND: As Drug Deaths Soar, a Silver Lining for Transplant Patients. “The surge in deaths from drug overdoses has become an unexpected lifeline for people waiting for organ transplants, turning tragedy for some into salvation for others. As more people die from overdoses than ever before, their organs — donated in advance by them or after the fact by their families — are saving lives of people who might otherwise die waiting for a transplant. . . . The impact has been striking, especially in a region like New England, which is in the grip of a heroin and opioid epidemic.”