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Originally Posted by f6twister
On that note, I'm not sure about every other state but where I live, even if you put down that you want to be an organ donor, your family has the final say. If you truly want to be an organ donor, make sure you tell your family of your wishes and ask that they follow through should the situation arise.
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most states require permission from the next of kin/family... i.e. even if you have "organ donor" marked on your license, it really doesn't mean squat. this practice was upheld in texas 3 or 4 years ago, when a person was registered as an organ donor, but the family said no.
in any event, in 2 years in a hospital, i've only seen a driver's license one time, and that was only because the patient had a heart attack in the parking lot while driving, and i was the one to drive his car back to the parking garage. but i digress...
decisions on organ donation are not made my er doctors anyway, as the er is not equipped for such a surgery, nor are they trained for such a decision.
if someone was listed as an organ donor... they sustained a massive head injury... they'd have to be put on life support first... then the family would have to agree to organ donation... then an organ donation service would be called (depends which one depending on the hospital)- the service runs blood work and lab work (trying to screen for h.i.v., hepatitis b, hepatitis c, probably some simple cancer markers)... neurology or internal medicine (depending on the hospital protocol) would be called to ensure no brain function... if all that checked out, then transplant surgery would be called to perform the organ procurement. it's a long process, and though organ donation does occur, it's not as common as one would think.
just the opinion of one medical student...