A debate has started in the UK regarding the question of organ donation. At the moment, people who want to donate their organs after death carry a note to that effect, and consent is usually sought from next-of-kin before organs are removed.
This has left a shortage in organs, and in order to address this problem, the suggestion has been made that presumed consent be brought in. This means that everybody will donate their organs after death, unless they specify that they wish to opt out.
I can imagine that quite a few people will have problems with this idea, although I can understand why it has been mooted. I hope an intelligent debate with proper information can be held on this issue.
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I think people are scared life support machines might be turned off prematurely ,if the organs are required ,there is alot to be said for and against..and what happens if you get to the Pearly Gates and arent allowed in, if you havent got all your bits ?,hmm .love Jan xx
ReplyDeleteI`ve carried a donor card for over 30 years now. I`ve always said that if anything happened to me they can take what they like, its not as though I`d need them again. There must be a way to clarify this as its a very sensitive issue.
ReplyDeleteLove Sandra xx
This is indeed a hard decision Geudo..I well remember many years ago being sent for to the hospital as my Mother had to have another op a few days after the first. whilst we waited I was certain that her surgeon...who was also a friend..was going to come and say she had died and could they use her organs...I knew at that instant that I couldn't give my permission even although I knew it would have been Mum's...and I would have probably regretted it. I think that if someone has given permission then that should be the decision taken. It is not the right time to ask relatives ( there will always be other situations such a a child ) Perhaps the question could be asked when one is in hospital they ask enough questions at that time ! Anyway it is a big decision and like you I hope that it will be suitably debated. Sybil xx
ReplyDeletehi guido, a tough one this. I have always said that if anything happened to me and i could help another person live on that i would donate. I don't know how i would feel about giving consent for one of my relatives especially my children. I would like to think i could say yes, you don't know until you are in the position do you? I didn't like the idea of my dad not being buried whole, but at the same time it feels right that someone should be saved through anothers generosity. A real tough one this. thanks. take care mrs t x
ReplyDeletehttp://journals.aol.co.uk/mleppard06/eternity/
I have carried a donor card around with me ever since I was young and single.
ReplyDeleteI have no objections to any part of my body being used after my death in order to help someone else live. I have warned my family about this too and want no objections.
If any relative of mine were in need of a life saving organ, and someone gifted theirs then I would jump at the chance. How could I not then offer my own if I am prepared to accept someone else's?
It cuts both ways.
I'm not sure of 'presumed consent' though. I can see this debate becoming inflammatory.
I don't expect everyone to think or act like me and it is their choice to gift their organs or not.
I would prefer regular high profile advertising of consent cards being issued in doctors surgeries, chemists or hospital outpatients etc.
Even annual events where people can take part in canvassing for donors.
It is a moot point and I am open to other ideas.
Jeanie
It is a tough issue. I know that organ donations save lives and improve the qualty of life for the recipents. But, I agree with the previous comment about hospital staff being anxious to pull the plug prematurely if they have an organ donor hooked up. If a DNR order is on file, that would be a different situation. I have never filled out a card but as a family we have all discussed it and all of us agree it is something we are agreeable to, under the proper circumstances. Linda in Washington state
ReplyDeleteI agree there should be a serious debate on this question. I have my reservations about presumed consent. Firstly, what if the donor has a serious but undiagnosed illness such as HIV, aids and many other medical conditions. Would the presumed donor be tested? Remember the times when we had diseases passed on through blood transfusions because the blood was not screened properly. Secondly, I have issues with the fact that the medical profession might not try quite so hard to keep someone alive (a person who could be saveable) because they had someone waiting in urgent need of a donated organ. I certainly feel that less effort would be made to keep older people alive. It is a very sticky situation, not unlike euthenasia.
ReplyDeleteWe have "organ donor" designations right on our driver's licenses (or non-driver, state-identification cards). That makes it a LOT easier here. Perhaps that can be one consideration. I wasn't even asked in regards to my father -- who likely is considered too old, and had only so many healthy organs, anyway -- and I didn't even think of it at the time. It'd have been one more set of forms, one more serious thing to think about at such an intense, full moment, as it was, if someone else had thought of it and he had any sound enough organs to donate, I'd have found it a ton easier to deal with if it'd been right on his identification card. I'd have known his wishes, and not felt a requirement to consult with my brother, etc., emergency personnel, everyone, would know.
ReplyDeletelooking forward to you reporting a serious debate if one takes place regarding this subject; organ donation does save lives; I hope more people would participate in it.
ReplyDeletebetty
Hey Guido,
ReplyDeleteI have told you before that my husband had a heart transplant, and he lived 2 more years before the transplanted heart failed. That is a very short time, since most receipients live many years after the transplant. But those 2 extra years we had were very precious because we knew if someone had not been a donor, we would not have had them. This person was in an accident and was brain dead so the family donated these organs. This is just a comment from someone on the other side of organ donation.
The 'presumed donation' will need some thought.
Frances
i carry a donor card, my wishes are on the register, so to speak. How long does each last for? And if they are not used..are they then destroyed? Bit of a mine field methinks..
ReplyDeleteI doubt this will ever go over well.
ReplyDeleteLori
I am in agreement with the other commentors regarding the fear of being "unplugged" too soon. This is a sensitive issue, I doubt any resolution will make all sides happy. Interested in following this story.
ReplyDeleteLisa
I'm of the mindset that if doctors (and I would hope a few would have an opinion in it....the old second, third, fourth, fifth, opinion variety) deem I am not going to recover, I would hope my family would allow them to take anything they wish from my body to help another.
ReplyDeleteIt's a touchy subject, but I would hope that ultimately all people realize it's only for the help of the living...........why hold out on someone who is dead, or artificially alive when another could live?
Just my 3rd, 4th, and 5th thoughts,
Rebecca Anne