Organ Donor or No?
 

No threads in search matched this.


Have you made yourself an organ donor? If you haven't why not? If you have why?


I'm normally not too selfish a person, but I draw the line at my body parts. I would gladly give something to someone I loved (a kidney, marrow,etc) but I refuse to have a hospital cut me up and have my organs used for someone I don't know. What if they give my heart to some asshole who fucks ppl over all the time? What if my eyes go to a rapist? I feel like the body is one of the very few things you own throughout your life, and I want it all to be in the same place, whether as ashes of cremation or a big chunk of meat if my wishes of cremation or being fed to ocean life are honored.

absolutely yes i am a donor -- i think anything else is at best paranoid and at worst extremely selfish. your eyes *could* go to a rapist, or they could go to the person who may go on to cure cancer (provided he or she has working eyes to look into a microscope). your heart could go to an asshole or to the next mother teresa. I don't understand why you'd choose to focus on the possible bad (and really maybe getting a new heart from a very giving stranger might turn the asshole into a saint) instead of the probable good.

I never gave the issue much thought until my newborn niece died. Her death, while it seemed pointless and capricious at the time, may mean that several other sick children will get a chance at life. That event changed my mind about organ donation. I only hope that I can do as much good in my life as she did in the two days she was alive.

Yes, I am. I don't really see any reason not to be, no religious beliefs that exclude it or anything. Besides, I plan on being creamated so it's not like I need everything in its proper place. Considering the good it does I don't really understand why anyone would choose not to be an organ donor.

Holo: What if the person recieving the organs was YOU? When you do something you set an example that others follow.

Absolutely I am. My grandfather was given sight by an organ donor. My dad, as a result, has always advocated for it. I guess I was raised to simply believe it is the right thing to do. Besides, my parts will do me no good when I"m gone and I want to be cremated, so no big deal.

Yup...and after they harvest what ever is good (it ain't gonna be my liver, lol) I want to be cremated.

Yep, I'm an organ donor. I could really care less what happens to my guts when I'm done, and I'm a dick on an everyday basis, so I guess I'll consider it my one good deed.

I guess another way I look at it, its like crushing old cars when theres plenty of goodies to still be parted out and used for restoration!

I have been asked this every time I say I won't donate my organs, and after much thought I would not accept organs. Most wouldn't understand that, but If I won't give my organs I shouldn't take them either. If I was in an accident and they replaced something while unconscious or comatose I can't be morally at fault as I couldn't object.


The core of it is I don't want my body parts being used by other ppl after my death. I think my body belongs to me and if I don't want to share it with others I have no obligation to do so. I may be able to do good...but I hate the thought of my death helping someone I would despise much more than I like the positive. No matter how much I hear arguments against my decision it's something I feel very deeply against doing. I just can't give myself to it.

holo: how do you feel about less extreme donation -- like blood or plasma or bone marrow or even hair? is your issue with giving *any* of yourself away or just the parts that you feel are vital?

Currently Im not...but I plan to change that when I turn 21 and get my new license etc.

I can't give blood, marrow or plasma for physical reasons (not AIDS) but if someone wanted my hair they could have what I have at the time. I could always grow more. And I could give a loved one part of me while I was living, like if my gf or daughter needed a kidney and we were a match. But not after death, because I couldn't decide how my parts were to be used.

Do you really think it's likely your parts would go to someone shady like that? I imagine those people make up a small percentage of organ recievers considering there's a national list and all.

this is where my personal paranoia kicks in. Think what you will of this, but I don't believe that the rich can't pull some strings and get a jump in line. With money anything is possible, and someone who would think themselves better than others and used their monetary influence to get ahead of a little girl waiting for my heart doesn't deserve to live on my gurney scraps. I will never believe that this can't happen or doesn't, so I can't feel comfortable with giving up my parts for other's use. Like I said, I could give to someone close while I was alive and knowing the part went to someone I could trust with a part of me, but never a stranger I don't, and never after death when the decision isn't mine. It's my body, and I want the power to use it as I see fit. I can't do that if I'm not alive anymore.

ok, i think this is a pretty valid point -- and reading it made me think. The truth is that in our society money does buy health care and that doesn't sit well with me. also, our society does need to work a little harder on accepting aging and death, sometimes it's time to go, no matter how old you are or how much money you have or how many people love you. i'm still hugely pro organ donation but the argument against the rich having better access to available organs made me think in a way that the "what if a criminal gets my liver?!?!" argument never did... probably because it seems more likely.

Even if someone buys themself an organ...if you don't donate that may be one less organ for someone who really needs it. The rich will still buy theres. At least if there are more in the pool the poor will have better odds of fishing something out.

If I'm gonna die...what am I going to do with my organs? Take 'em, save a life, and cremate my remains.

Yes you're probably right...it always goes back to this very subconcious feeling it's wrong. It's like meeting someone and getting a very bad feeling about them. Every time I consider my position I get that feeling when I consider being an organ donor. My reasons I believe are sound, but at the heart of it,no pun intended, I can't allow my body to be used by anyone I don't know and trust. My right to dispose of my body as I see fit is as important as a woman's right of pro-choice. I believe in both, as they are basically the same issue.

Yep, I'm a donor. As Arsenic said, even if assholes are at the front of the line, mine will be one more, and if that helps even one "non-asshole," then that's enough for me.

And, maybe I'm being naive, but there's always hope for redemption. Sure, maybe the person who gets something from me was an ass his entire life; but maybe he'd turn everything around and end up a decent person.

Currently I'm not, and I'm not really sure which I'll chose at 21.

Also a friend of mine said he heard your more likely to not be saved in a hospital if your in critical condition if you are an organ donor. It very well may not be true though.

I am not, and I'm not sure why.

I will be, since there is a great chance I'll die of heart failure earlier then later, I'm sure I'll have something good to give.

And should that mean that I won't be saved, so be it.

Yep I am. I don't want my good organs to go to waste when someone may need them.

I am and I respect your opinion and feel that there are valid points (Holo). But taht doesn't stop me from disagreeing :). In any event I have known not closely but known people who have been given a second chance from organ donation and really you are right that sometimes the wrong people get a transplant that really shouldn't, but the fact that you can touch a life like that is something I always consider.

One thing I dont' understand though is that you don't want your body to be used by someone you don't know or trust. The fact that you never knew them and you are now dead kind of points out the impossibility of the whole situation. Really though I guess i'm the opposite end of the fence and I can't really even comprehend completely your thought.

Yes i am.
I can relate on a personal lvl....my aunt received one of the first heart and double lung transplants ever preformed 19 years ago. I'm not going to bore you with details, but the difference those organs made for her body was awesome. She would not be here today if she didn't get the operation.

BECOME A DONOR LINK

Absolutely not true. The doctors/nurses/etc. in the ER don't know whether you're a donor or not.

If anyone can use some of my parts after I die they can have them.

I am. I figure once I'm dead, I don't need them. Polycystic kidney disease runs in my family, and a handful of my extended family have recieved kidneys from donors who have passed away or from family members who don't have the disease. Because of this, the donor thing hits pretty close to home.

Donor here.

I don't care much for humanity, but I have a weakness for sick people. :P

I want to be a donor. My parents and brother are aware of my wish and I had marked it on my driver's liscense. My husband though says that he would be adamantly against them chopping me up. (Though from what I've heard they can do it carefully to preserve to outer look for an open casket funeral.) I've given up trying to make it a possibility because from what I've heard it doesn't matter how much you want to be a donor, if your family objects, then they can't do it. If you know of a way around that I would love to know what it is.

Yes, and I have been forever. My grandfather had a heart transplant from an organ donor a few years ago, and he's still alive today. I feel no need to keep my organs after I'm dead. I won't be using them any more, so if they can help someone else I am fine with giving them up. Thinking that I could be saving someone's life if I were to die makes death seem a little less tragic.

well if you [i]want[.i] to be a donor, then perhaps educate your husband on the treatment of the body, maybe even speaking to adonor organization by email or phone to explain the process in detail. I'm all for anyone being a donor-it's your body to do with as you please. I don't think an SO should stand in the way either yay or nay, but his adamant stance shows how he cares for you. I'd get him educated so you both can be happy about your decision.

I'm a donor, pretty much for a lot of the same reasons other people have stated. If I die, I can't use my body but perhaps someone else can. And I can't see the end of all things - perhaps an asshole gets my heart, but he saves the life of some little old lady crossing the street and she donates a billion dollars to cure cancer or something. Not mine to judge.

I'm an organ donor and I guess my reasoning is, even if I can't live, if there's something inside me that will help someone else live, than it's worth it to give it to them so they may live longer.

Your friend is speaking utter bullshit. THe people in the ER and op room are there for your safety, they do thier job for a living because its what they want to do, SAVE PEOPLE.

In my eyes anyone who isnt a donor is selfish and incosiderate.
I dont honestly care what your religion says, or what lie you tell your self. If you are dead, and somone needs your organ to live, give it to them damnit.

My father is living today due to somone whole heartedly enough to be a donor, and when I think and listen to others specifically saying they will not due to some generally bs reason, it irritates me to no end.

my body is only my body... after I die, the gov't, science, the church, my parents (lets hope no them), my kids, my wife (if she's still alive), needing families, etc. can have it and do whatever with it, use the organs, profit off it, whatever... its only a body and once I'm dead I have no more use for it.. if ANYONE can make use of it.. I say let em have at it... frankly I don't care if my body is left on stakes in the mojhave desert after I die... whoop dee la de da freaking do...

but yeah... donating orgains sure, I'll donate my brain too. if ya want it.. ;)

and after that... umm... whatever you wanna do to it is fine with me.. even if it means BBQ.. :p doubt that happens though.. with legality and all... soo burnination is fine

yes i am an organ doner. i wasnt until i renewed my licience but i think it would be best so i did it.


a friend died and he saved a few people... thus i will too

i have no use of my parts when i die, so i'm an organ donor to :)

id be an organ donor. just seems right. letting someone not have a chance to live.. seems wrong to me

i haven't only because i forgot to tell them that when i got my driver's liscense. Otherwise i would've and i will the next time i get my liscense renewed.

Yeah, I got sent a sticker that I put over the address bar of my drivers licence. You can do it anytime.

I'm a donor, I don't like the idea of storing my corpse in a way where it last 3x longer than anyone who cares about me, and this way people get to live because of my parts.

No, never.

Yes of course I am.

I mean, its not like I'm going to have any use for them after I die, so why not put them to good use, so that I can hopefully save someone else's life instead.:)

Actually, they have to do everything they can to KEEP you alive in order to use your organs. It is a very complex procedure. But their first goal and priority is to do everything possible to save your life. Once it is clear that you are not going to survive whatever happened, then, and only then, do they begin the process of preservation for organ donation.

As for me, yes, I am a donor. As many have said, I don't need any of these parts once I am gone. If I can leave a part of me to improve the life of someone else who may still have years ahead of them, take it.

My brother was a donor and they used his skin from his back for a patient in the burn unit. They also used his eyes.

i am a selfish bastard and couldnt care less if someone needs an organ of mine... fuck em! they should have taken better care of their own. and if its nothing that was their fault well thats to fucking bad for you!... however, i am an organ donor because the morons at the dmv f'd up and made me one and im to lazy to fix it... so enjoy my organs people...

I was a donor for many years, but have recently changed it. I watched a 60 minutes special (or dateline) and decided to do some research before chaning back.

First of all, ER personnel do know the organ donors. They have to know because they have to prep, as well as match, donor to recipient in a limited time.

Secondly, they may keep me alive until they harvest my good parts, but that doesn't mean they are going to work past the timeframe they have for useful organs in order to bring me back from death.

Lastly, I haven't decided what I want to ulimately do. But that doesn't mean I'm not empathetic toward recipients and it doesn't mean I am unintelligent. I respect others' decision to donate and I expect them to respect my decision to keep my organs to myself if I choose to--without denigrating my choice.

I am a donor, what the hell do I care what they do with my organs when I die. Organ donation is a good thing, you can help up to 46 people with one body for donation. Make sure to tell your family too, dont just put it on your liscence.

I am definitely an organ donor. I think that my organs going to another person could be a comfort to my family when I die. They can see that my death has given another person a life.
Just my take on the issue.

Having known a 4-year-old who died last week because there was no match for her, I can assure you that the number of lives saved from organ/blood/tissue donation is staggering, but the number of lives lost because enough people won't commit to give, for one reason or the other, is even more so. An organ takes a signature and letting your family know, but donating blood is simple and painless and can be done often, and adding yourself to the national marrow donor registry even more so - it just takes a finger stick and filling out some paperwork. They are especially looking for non-Caucasians. You're more likely to have a match, even with blood, from someone of your same ethnicity. All easy ways to save multiple lives.

I would rather a rapist get my corneas and five other people get my other organs than for those five to die waiting. Giving of oneself must be completely selfless. For my little friend though, it's too late. :(

Would it be too hard to auction mine off on ebay?

Yes. My grandmother died because she did not receive her transplant in time. When I went to go get my license, my father kindly reminded me of this. I looked down at the sheet and checked the "donor" box.

OK let me turn this thread in a new direction. What if they allowed to specify what social group/age demographic your organs would go to? I mean they are your organs, your property, just like your furniture you willed to goodwill. Would you object to that? If I became an organ donor under that law I would specify my organs to go only to nice little girls under age 10. What do you think of that? What if someone else donated their organs to skinny men 20-25? The upside would be nice little girls would get my organs. Would you agree to this practice? Who would you specify giving to? Be honest. Remember you have a chance to help a certain type of person/demographic.

I don't think it would work too well and I'm sure it would bring up so many more issues regarding race and prejudice. Though in medicine race is necessary.

Personally I would choose to give to only NON-Criminals.

I am listed as a donor, but thanks to a medical condition, nonfatal by the way, and noncommunicative, I cannot now donate blood or organs.....

I might leave my body to science though, don't see any reason to box it up and take up valueable acreage.

Your point is valid, but it's not racism to leave your effects to your children in your will. Is it racism to give your stuff to someone who is already established and doesn't need it and not some inner-city minority children? Obviously most don't think so since you can leave your effects to anyone you wish regardless of need.

And to further play devil's advocate, why can't a person be racist with their organs? Just because racism is wrong doesn't mean a person doesn't have the right to believe in it, and to direct their property away from those they erroneously discriminate against. I mean property shouldn't be conditional, especially posthumous body parts, hence the option to not be a donor. I say take it a step further and have designations of who gets your organs. It may be a little more paperwork, but it would reintroduce natural selection into our lives in a new way.


Additional question: you have the option to save two lives. A 9 year old girl, and a 65 year old woman. You know neither one and will not meet them before hand. Who would you pick to continue life? I believe most would save the little girl, given that she's barely tasted life and most likely the 65 yo has lived a full life or at least had 65 years to do so. A selective process might exclude some groups, such as the elderly, minorities, or criminals but that would be the decision of society's members so you'd have your peers to blame. You can't force ppl to not discriminate, only educate. I think it would be very interesting to have a check off sheet and see the anonymous stats of that.

What if the 65 year old is a grandmother who is responsible for taking care of her dead daughter's three small children and without her, they will not have a stable home and someone to love them? Organ/blood/tissue donation is the final frontier of true selflessness. You don't know who you might be helping and that's the beauty of it.

What if that 9-year-old's organs are failing because of a fatal disease and a new organ will only prolong her life a few months? I know a 14-year-old who had a heart/lung/liver transplant. It was successful, but because the disease that destroyed his own organs is still present there's no way to know how long the transplanted organs will last. Does that not mean that he or his family is any less happy to have him for a little longer, even if that time is unspecified? Of course not. Should those organs have been given to someone who may otherwise be healthy? Who's right is that to say? Would you tell him that? His parents?

There's no selectivity here. It's all or nothing. Plus, although I respect your opinion, it is not our right to choose who gets what. That is based upon need, age, compatibility, availability and success rates determined by knowledgeable physicians.

Yes, it's selfish otherwise

donating is better than letting them rot or burn(on earth or in hell :P)