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Should organ donation be compulsory?
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
Following the liver transplant of a football legend in England, there have been several reports in the papers about the shortage of organs available for transplant, and the long wait patients have to endure, often resulting in death. At present only 16% of the UK population are registered organ donors. That got me thinking. Should we strongly encourage that people donate their organs when they die, even make it compulsory? At the end of the day it's already a crime not to stop to assist a road accident victim in need of help. By refusing to donate your heart, liver, kidneys, etc, you are denying many people the chance of survival. There is no reason why this should be. In most cases the body is just buried and ends up eaten by worms. The only semi-valid objection people seem to have is influenced by their religion (here we go again!), but if it comes to saving thousands of lives these objections should be overruled
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Personally, I do want to donate, but on the other hand, it freaks me knowing that people are waiting for me to die, and that as soon as I die, I will get cut up.
I do know that people who are waiting for organs don't want me to die, and that once I am dead then I don't need any of my organs... But I am just a bit scared of the thought.
About religion... So many of the religious people have these awful double standards, they are not willing to donate, but definitely willing to recieve. And as it is today you can't deny someone the chance for life, neither can you force them to do anything they don't want to. Frustrating!
And they should specify a reason if they don't want to be an organ donor, and if they have a valid reason(most of them will be religion, of course) they don't have to be an organ donor. But if they don't then they have to donate their organs if they die.
Then again, this could be because i am for organ donation, an individual could get as pissed off about this as i did hearing we need to "opt out" of spam mail.
Than again i would hope that hospitals and medical establishments have more scruples than those bastards spamming comapnys that only remove my name for a month before starting again...
Overruling religious objections would the the worst possible idea.
PS, does anyone know what these religious objections actually are and which religions object?
Currently, even though you carry a donor card your relatives can refuse for your organs to be "farmed", because the Donor Card doesn't constitute a "living will". It has no legal basis.
It's also worth noting that although many people donate blood, few are listed on the organ donation register. Another seldom recognised point is that you can donate even whilst alive, a single kidney and bone marrow being two examples.
Can I take it that each of you carries a card (a couple have already said so), and if you don't, why not?
I too favour the opt out system. I am in favour of organ donation, but I don't have a donor card, mainly because I'm always too busy/lazy to get round to registering for one. If it was opt out, then I'd be automatically on the list.
Under an opt-out system, many undecided people, or people who never even think about organ donorship, wouldn't opt out, just as they don't register now. Thus you get more donors without necessarily forcing anyone into it.
I also think that they should be made legally binding; I don't believe it is up to the family to decide, especially if they're going against the wishes of the recently deceased. Bereavement can do odd things to people, and it's often a knee-jerk reaction to having their loved one "cut up". By the time they come to their senses a little, it is often too late to salvage the organs.
Whilst writing this post, I looked up the organ donor website am now filling in the registration form. If anyone wants to do the same, the address is: http://www.nhsorgandonor.net/
As for the religions that might object to it, the only one that comes to mind is Jehovah's Witnesses. Well, they object to blood transfusions so I'm pretty sure they don't approve of transplants either.
Ok now thats a bit dodgy IMO...going into schools and getting kids to sign up is not on.
I know that the ultra-orthodox jews won't donate, as they have this twisted idea about not being able to "wake up to life" when "Messiah will come and save the world". But it is not a law within Judaism, and most Rabbis are for it, as the "highest" rule is, that you are allowed to break every rule, if it goes for saving human lives, as they are worth the most.
Does that make any sense?
And about that woman coming to school... I understand if she wanted to tell you about the donating-system, but aren't you supposed to be at least 18 to sign such a form? Isn't it the parents responsibility when talking about minors in this case?
I also agree about the 'opt out' system.
But even if more people carried donar cards, it doesn't mean that they are organ donars in the end. I read somewhere (could have been on the leaflet with the card) that they usually take the organs of people who have e.g been killed suddenly, and not by natural causes.
Well, it's probably because that usually when you die out of natural reasons (sickness and age), then most chances are that your organs will be affected by the years or the sickness - worn down, really.
Lets say, you're a healthy young person who dies in a car crash, then your organs are most likely to be functioning like they should, and therefor good for donating. Which is probably why, more young people should have the donor cards, as more people would probably benefit of it.
I think Jacq answered this, but its worth remembereing that most people don't die of "natural causes" but due to an illness of sorts, and you have a 1:3 chance of having cancer. Obviously organs from a cancer patient will never be used in transplants.
If you do reach a ripe old age, then your organs have worked to the max and may not be useable.
And finally, it does help if you die in hospital
My sister had a heart transplant three years ago and this gave her opportunities she’d previously been unable to even consider. For the first time she was able to do PE at school. The things she was able to do as a result of the transplant are what most people can do with no trouble at all, but they had always been a challenge for her before.
Having seen the enormous benefits of organ donation first hand, I really wish more people were aware of how much of a difference it makes. I don’t carry a donor card myself, simply because I know that my parents would agree to my organs being donated. So until the responsibility is no longer theirs I feel no need to carry a card.
As horrible as some may think me for saying this but I would only ever consider giving any of my body parts to someone in my own family and then they would have to be very very close to me and I would have had to have got on with them, doesn't that sound nasty but I'm only being honest.
DD
My understanding, and I'm happy to be corrected if wrong, is that he's not a reformed alcholoic yet. So I don't believe he deserves anything as precious as an organ donation.
Simply a waste of time, resources and opportunities for others that could be in the same line for that liver transplant.
As far as donor cards - I'm for opt out.
Yes I'm squeamish about offering my organs up fo donation given that the decision to extract the organs from 'donors' is often made while their vital signs are still ticking over quite happily- know this from experience - been there, done that...
Before an alcoholic can go on the list for a transplant, he has to be alcohol free for six months and undergo regular tests to prove it.