Are You An Organ Donor?

[Noomi]

Since there is so much discussion about the little girl who has received a new set of lungs, I ask USMB members if they are organ donors.

If so, how long have you been a donor?
Are you donating organs, or tissue/blood/muscle etc?
Do you think organ donation should be compulsory?
Do you think the system should be an opt out one, as opposed to opt in?
Do you think family members should have the right to override the wishes of a loved one, if that loved one wanted to be a donor upon their death?
Do you believe those who choose to donate should have the right to decide who receives their organs?
Should those who refuse to be organ donors be forbidden from receiving an organ? ie; if you don't gift, you don't receive? Excluding people suffering from medical conditions, of course.

 

[Noomi]

1. I signed up when I was 11. I asked my parents if I could be a donor, they filled out the form for me, and sent it away. I upgraded my details a few years ago, and have carried my donor card with me ever since. I plan on getting a small tattoo on my chest stating that I am an organ donor, just in case I lose my card.

2. I am donating all organs, including corneas, as well as blood, bone, muscle, valves, arteries, skin, and anything else that might be needed. Skin can be very beneficial in helping people who have suffered severe burns. There isn't likely to be much left of me afterward, but why care - I will be dead.

3. Not necessarily compulsory - that would mean that people with blood disorders and other illnesses would be forced to donate.

4. Yes, it should be opt out. Upon your 18th birthday, everyone should be presumed a donor, if you wish to take your name off the register, you should fill out the form, just as you do to become a donor. Having an opt out system would mean that more people would donate, given that most people wouldn't go to the trouble of filling out forms to remove themselves from the list. More donors means more people would live.

5. Family members should butt out, and have no say in the matter at all. Under our current laws, if a family member objects, the deceased, despite being a donor, will not be permitted to donate.

6. Yes, I do. Within reason. I don't believe that someone should have the right to decide that they don't want their organs to go to a Muslim, or a liberal, for example. But if someone didn't want their liver to go to an alcoholic, I think that is acceptable. My organs are healthy, and I take care of them. The way I see it, I should have the right to decide where my organs go, and I don't want them going to someone who has abused their body through alcohol or smokes, to use those vices as an example.
Obviously this is currently impossible, but its wishful thinking.

7. It sounds harsh, but yes, I do. Excluding those who suffer from an illness that prevents them from donating, or religious beliefs, if someone refuses to donate because of a petty reason, for example - 'I don't want to be cut up' then that person should not be eligible to receive organs. I believe that in order to receive, one must give. I also believe that anyone who receives blood should, if they are able to, make a blood donation at least once to give back what they received.

 

[jon_berzerk]

Since there is so much discussion about the little girl who has received a new set of lungs, I ask USMB members if they are organ donors.

If so, how long have you been a donor?
Are you donating organs, or tissue/blood/muscle etc?
Do you think organ donation should be compulsory?
Do you think the system should be an opt out one, as opposed to opt in?
Do you think family members should have the right to override the wishes of a loved one, if that loved one wanted to be a donor upon their death?
Do you believe those who choose to donate should have the right to decide who receives their organs?
Should those who refuse to be organ donors be forbidden from receiving an organ? ie; if you don't gift, you don't receive? Excluding people suffering from medical conditions, of course.

for as long as i can remember

anything they need if the mrs goes first

they can also have me as a cadaver

compulsory -no i appreciate freedom and liberty too much for that

opt out -no

 

[rdean]

I don't donate so much anymore.

 

[whitehall]

I donated a Kimble to Good Will one time. It played pretty well.

 

[MHunterB]

Everyone in our household is an organ donor. Including the cat. He donates his fur on a regular basis - in spring, the birdies just love it to line their nests : ))

 

[Lipush]

Since there is so much discussion about the little girl who has received a new set of lungs, I ask USMB members if they are organ donors.

If so, how long have you been a donor?
Are you donating organs, or tissue/blood/muscle etc?
Do you think organ donation should be compulsory?
Do you think the system should be an opt out one, as opposed to opt in?
Do you think family members should have the right to override the wishes of a loved one, if that loved one wanted to be a donor upon their death?
Do you believe those who choose to donate should have the right to decide who receives their organs?
Should those who refuse to be organ donors be forbidden from receiving an organ? ie; if you don't gift, you don't receive? Excluding people suffering from medical conditions, of course.

Neat thread!

I signed up as an organ donor back in 2009, just before I got released from military service.

I means that when the time comes, seeing the 'Adi' ticket, I donate in case of a coma or brain-death or actual death to those who need it.

I used to donate blood up until was diagnosed with Anemia, but it got better in the last couple of months.

My father is also donating regulary, and signed up as a donor.

I believe that if the loved ones wished to be a donor, the family should respect his or her wishes.

'Do you believe those who choose to donate should have the right to decide who receives their organs?'

I think so. It might not always be PC, but if they wish a part of their anatomy goes to a specific person, it's their right, because its still their body

'Should those who refuse to be organ donors be forbidden from receiving an organ?'

Mhmmm, hard-to-answer question! I don't think so, though

 

[AquaAthena]

I have been an organ donor for years.....

 

[Katzndogz]

I am not an organ donor. Organ donation should not be compulsory and not be opt out instead of opt in. What would happen is that the card, stating that you aren't a donor just wouldn't be found until later. Better no organ harvesting than "Oops, we didn't find the card, it's too late now". However, IF there were such a thing as an opt out provision instead of an opt in provision, the appropriate solution would be to retrieve the illegally harvested organs for proper disposition. Those who refuse to be an organ donor, are probably like myself and wouldn't want to live because they were cobbled together out of the body parts of a corpse. No family member or interested party should have the right or the power to override the wishes of the deceased.

 

[Mad Scientist]

The best thing about being an Organ Donor is that the Doctors will work to save your organs and not your life.

 

[Mr. H.]

I'm an organ grinder in a circus.

Yeah, the Donor designation has been on my driver's license for years. Don't remember when I initially signed up. Maybe 20 years ago?


Are you donating organs, or tissue/blood/muscle etc? I DUNNO

Do you think organ donation should be compulsory? NOPE

Do you think the system should be an opt out one, as opposed to opt in? NOPE

Do you think family members should have the right to override the wishes of a loved one, if that loved one wanted to be a donor upon their death? NOPE

Do you believe those who choose to donate should have the right to decide who receives their organs? NOPE

Should those who refuse to be organ donors be forbidden from receiving an organ? ie; if you don't gift, you don't receive? Excluding people suffering from medical conditions, of course. NOPE

About 6 years ago the daughter's best friend contracted a form of childhood leukemia, so that's when I signed up with Be The Match: Hope for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, blood cancer and sickle cell disease
They've never called and now that I'm pushing 60, I think I'm out of the loop. There's an age cut-off.
Which leads me to think maybe I could donate a kidney while I'm still living. Always thought it would be cool to help someone out like that.
Hell, maybe I'm too old to donate a kidney.

I should probably warn someone not to take my liver when I die LOL.

 

[Katzndogz]

The best thing about being an Organ Donor is that the Doctors will work to save your organs and not your life.

The incentive is to kill you.

The examination to determine if someone is brain dead enough to harvest organs is cursory at best and no anesthesia is given to the donor. You are quite alive and experiencing every second of your organs being ripped from your body. No one has ever complained, because they end up dead and unable to tell anyone what happened to them.


What You Lose When You Sign That Organ-Donor Card - WSJ.com

BHCs—who don't receive anesthetics during an organ harvest operation—react to the scalpel like inadequately anesthetized live patients, exhibiting high blood pressure and sometimes soaring heart rates. Doctors say these are simply reflexes.

What if there is sound evidence that you are alive after being declared brain dead? In a 1999 article in the peer-reviewed journal Anesthesiology, Gail A. Van Norman, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of Washington, reported a case in which a 30-year-old patient with severe head trauma began breathing spontaneously after being declared brain dead. The physicians said that, because there was no chance of recovery, he could still be considered dead. The harvest proceeded over the objections of the anesthesiologist, who saw the donor move, and then react to the scalpel with hypertension.

 

[Cuyo]

The best thing about being an Organ Donor is that the Doctors will work to save your organs and not your life.

I've heard that before, it's even been recommended to me that I NOT get the DL endorsement but rather just put it in my living will that, despite my DL, I wish to be an organ donor.

Never analyzed that claim fully but nonetheless I'm an organ donor on my DL. Guess I just like to live dangerously.

 

[editec]

I'll be an organ donor when every person on the staff and every hospital DONATES their expertise etc, too.

It's BS that so much money is made AROUND these donations of organs and blood.

 

[Mad Scientist]

What if there is sound evidence that you are alive after being declared brain dead? In a 1999 article in the peer-reviewed journal Anesthesiology, Gail A. Van Norman, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of Washington, reported a case in which a 30-year-old patient with severe head trauma began breathing spontaneously after being declared brain dead. The physicians said that, because there was no chance of recovery, he could still be considered dead. The harvest proceeded over the objections of the anesthesiologist, who saw the donor move, and then react to the scalpel with hypertension.

Doctors said my Mother had Brain Damage, her kidneys were failing and she only 10% lung capacity so we should really think about "pulling the plug". The decision was left to me so I said "No, what will be will be".

Three days later she woke up, kidneys started working, they pulled the breather out and she was just fine. No brain damage.

Doctors don't always have your best interests at heart.

 

[whitehall]

Seriously though, kidneys are pretty valuable. I'd like to get a couple of bucks before they pry them from my cold dead corpse. I have a pretty rare blood type ,AB, and I'm seriously concerned that they might hasten my demise to get at the juicy treasures in my body.

 

[syrenn]

Since there is so much discussion about the little girl who has received a new set of lungs, I ask USMB members if they are organ donors.

If so, how long have you been a donor?
since it was legal for me to say i wanted to be a donor... so 18.

Are you donating organs, or tissue/blood/muscle etc?

live blood when they call for it and i am a registered bone marrow donor. Upon death...anything and everything that is harvestable. Skin, organs, joints, eyes, hair... if they want it they can have it.

Do you think organ donation should be compulsory?
No it should not be compulsory

Do you think the system should be an opt out one, as opposed to opt in?

No, the system should have no rights that you do not agree to and give them first.

Do you think family members should have the right to override the wishes of a loved one, if that loved one wanted to be a donor upon their death?

no, family should have zero say.

Do you believe those who choose to donate should have the right to decide who receives their organs?

No, if you donate you donate.


Should those who refuse to be organ donors be forbidden from receiving an organ? ie; if you don't gift, you don't receive? Excluding people suffering from medical conditions, of course.

I feel that those who are not willing to donate organs should be put behind people on the list of throes that were willing to donate organs. It would be wrong to exclude them.

 

[Katzndogz]

What about those who SAY they are willing to donate organs, but can't. They have some sort of condition that makes their organs unusable. They might secretly not want to donate organs.

 

[strollingbones]

Since there is so much discussion about the little girl who has received a new set of lungs, I ask USMB members if they are organ donors.

If so, how long have you been a donor?

i think since i got my dl at 16

Are you donating organs, or tissue/blood/muscle etc?

entire body ...take what ya what and burn the rest

Do you think organ donation should be compulsory?

no, some people just cant handle the thougth

Do you think the system should be an opt out one, as opposed to opt in?

no, its easy to opt in.....

Do you think family members should have the right to override the wishes of a loved one, if that loved one wanted to be a donor upon their death?

no but the dead do not file lawsuits

Do you believe those who choose to donate should have the right to decide who receives their organs?

o hell no

Should those who refuse to be organ donors be forbidden from receiving an organ? ie; if you don't gift, you don't receive? Excluding people suffering from medical conditions, of course.

no.

there ya go

 

[editec]

I feel that those who are not willing to donate organs should be put behind people on the list of throes that were willing to donate organs. It would be wrong to exclude them.

I think that's very reasonable.

And do bear in mind I think organ donating is basically a SCAM against the donors.