Organ donors

If you are asked whether you would like to become an organ donor in case of premature death, would you agree to it?

I already am...right on my driver's license...

I damn sure won't need them at that point...if it helps someone else...great...

i assumed that it went to the first on the list, of who needed it most...not on money!!

Ahh...but how do you think you get to be first on the list?

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by Gazrok]

Originally posted by tracer
Asala...whats to guarantee that the little child will get that organ and not some rich and famous person?

who descides a rich and famous person should not get that organ? whats the difference between two lives that can get saved? one is older than the other? if we dont want the docters to discriminate we should stop doing it ourself.
I wouldnt care who gets my organs, as long as someone gets them and has a change to live.

Spot

Personally, I am all for organ donation. If I knew I was going to die I would tell the doctors to take anything they could to donate. However, I do not list myself as an organ doner on my driver's license. This is because I do believe that if you get into a car wreck and you are listed as an organ doner then the doctors will let you die so they can get your organs. Call me selfish but I would prefer to live.

I'm all for Organ Donation, although as I have specific plans for the manner in which my corpse shall be prepared upon death, I'm one of those people who is very specific as to what organs can be harvested, and which ones retained in my Living Will.

(My stomach, intestines, lungs and liver are claimed for sealing in Canopic Jars. All other internal organs are fair game.)

I understand that for some it is a matter of Religious Belief that prevents them from wanting to medically help others in the advent of death. Religious Belief is what restricts what organs I am donating as well, but for some of the Abrahamic Religions the entire concept of Organ Donation may be construed as sinful (although I'm not sure why they would consider dissection of one's corpse to have any kind of bearing upon their supposedly immortal soul).

About the only part of Organ Donation that I feel strongly about is that it should always remain VOLUNTARY! The moment that it is mandatory, or becomes the de facto standard that must be opted out of, then such a practice becomes invasive and repugnant. However, a voluntary program harms none, and benefits many.


[edit on 2-11-2009 by fraterormus]

I think my main concern about this is doctors being too quick to pronounce someone as brain dead and then carve them up for $. I don't think machines are accurate enough to be certain someone can't feel it and there is big money involved so there is always a chance some checks and balances might be skipped to save time.. and I agree some people might be moved up the list depending on their status in society. I have also got concerns about specific organs. I am more sentimental about my eyes and heart so I guess that could be spiritual reasons. My eyes would have seen my life.

I also have the same sort of fears about autopsy.. maybe I was ringing one of those little toe bells in a past life.

[edit on 2-11-2009 by riley]

I have no problem with it, I just wish I could pick the recipients. I do not want my organs going to some CEO of some company that outsources to another country for cheap labor, or some celebrity who drank their way into needing my organs. I would rather them go to someone who truly deserves them.

Let me add another point of view.

I am in need of a kidney.

My brother, children and many others have offered me one of theirs.

Problem with taking a living donors organ is that it could cause problems for the donor. So, I've refused my children's offer.

My brother is five years younger than me but not in good health and insist I take his offer. We'll see what happens.

The problem I have in accepting a dead donors organ is that the person has to die so I can live.

It has become a very spiritual thing for me.

I have given much thought to do nothing and allow my body to expire. It is an option my doctor and I discussed.

I'm 62, healthy except for renal failure and have been and still am very active.

If I keep putting off my decision it will cease to be problem.

I love this life and have lived and experienced more than most people.
Maybe it is time to go to the next level.

My ex-wife was a nurse and she insisted that I never volunteer for organ donation. According to her, if you were in an accident or whatever and near death and the doctor knew that you were an organ donor, they would put less effort into keeping you alive - gotta get those parts. Of course, my ex was also a pathelogical liar, so I do not know if she was being truthful on this point or not. Just in case, I do not plan to donate.

Originally posted by bagari
My ex-wife was a nurse and she insisted that I never volunteer for organ donation. According to her, if you were in an accident or whatever and near death and the doctor knew that you were an organ donor, they would put less effort into keeping you alive - gotta get those parts. Of course, my ex was also a pathelogical liar, so I do not know if she was being truthful on this point or not.

Just in case, I do not plan to donate.

I have heared this before and it would not surprise me.. it puts money and personal bias into it. A medical emergency could suddenly become "who deserves life more" scenario.

edit. I hate talking about this subject- it gives me the heebee geebees (tempting fate). Hopefully people will be able to have their own cloned spare parts grown. We already store eggs, sperm and blood etc. I also hate the fact that people are selling their kydneys in impoverished countries in order to pay to feed their kids.. do people have to hope that someone has the trauma of a car accident so they can live? What about cloning/stem cell research? If people supported that more we might not need to wait for someone to die.

[edit on 2-11-2009 by riley]

This is a tough subject for me. I have grown and acquired certain beliefs in my lifetime. I used to shudder at the thought of donating or receiving donated body parts. Then I tore my ACL in my knee. Surgery options were: Use my own hamstring, use a cadaver ligament, or leave it. Well since it happened on the job and it being a very physically demanding job I opted to not have "two" injured legs and went with the cadaver ligament. Recovery was 3 to 6 months longer, mainly due to "accepting" the new flesh in my leg.
Now, I fully appreciate the person that donated their body part so I could continue walking without a cane, there is still a "big" part of me that is against the organ donation.
When I lost my mother to an unexpected illness a few years ago, our family decided it was best to let her be an organ donator. What I found out afterwards, has helped me with my decision. I talked to a nurse that worked at the hospital where she passed and according to her, majority of organs aren't donated. The cadaver is used primarily for training for medical students.
While I don't support organ donation, I commend those that have decided to be of "use" after they expire from this plane.

That is also an issue for me.. I wouldn't want my body/body parts being disected and studied in a classroom. Donating could be signing away permission for her knows what (depending on the country). Can they harvest eggs as well and experiment on them? Can you specify what body parts you are not willing to donate?

[edit on 3-11-2009 by riley]