Would you support a "presumed consent" policy for organ donation?

[eflat]

So it seems to be a pretty well agreed upon fact that if we changed the system from an opt-in to an opt-out system, we could go from having a huge waitlist for organs to having a surplus.

That has been the case for lots of European countries that have tried it.

I like the idea a lot.

I think if most people really thought it over (and realized that you can still have an open casket) they would not mind. There is just something so unsettling about acknowledging that you might die tomorrow that I think makes a lot of people avoid even considering it. I know it freaked me out when I put that organ donor sticker on my liscense.

And it's as simple as putting your name on a list if you do not consent. Where do you all stand?

 

[Brainonska511]

If I'm dead, I don't care who uses my organs since I won't be needing them. And since I won't be needing them, I'm not going to be selfish and keep my (possibly) functioning organs from helping someone who needs them.

 

[middlehead]

Organ donor programs. Does that sh!t bother you a little bit? Sounds like Joseph Mengele has been sitting in on some of those meetings or something. The thing that bothers me the most about it is they're run by the motor vehicle bureau. I figure, hey, sh!t, if you got to wait on a line that long for a kidney, fvck it. Do without. It's the motor vehicle bureau, in most states, who sends you the little card you're supposed to carry right next to your driver's license, in your wallet. A little card, you're supposed to fill it out, and on it you're supposed to list the organs you're willing to give in case you die. Oh, are these people out of their fvcking minds or something? Do you honestly believe that if a paramedic finds that card on you in an automobile accident, he's going to try to save your life? Bullshit! He's looking for parts, man! Absolutely! "Look Dan, here's that lower intestine we've been looking for. Nevermind the oxygen, this man's a donor!" Bullsh!t, they can have my rectum and my anus. That's all I'm giving, take them and get out of here. Put them in your bag and get the fvck out of my life. That's all I'm giving. I don't want some guy poking around in me hoping I die, I want to live. I don't want to die. That's the whole secret of life...not dying! I figured that sh!t out alone in third grade.

 

[aidanjm]

no.

 

[JLGatsby]

"I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone's right to one minute of my life. Nor to any part of my energy. Nor to any achievement of mine. No matter who makes the claim, how large their number, or how great their need. I wished to come here and say that I am a man who does not exist for others."
--Ayn Rand

They're my organs, even when I'm dead.

 

[BoomerD]

While I don't disagree with the idea of organ donation, it should still be opt-in, because otherwise, too many people who don't know or understand may have their organs collected against their wishes...Just like a lot of the bullshit with credit cards and banks, if you don't opt out, you get your information sold to whoever....because too often, people either don't know how to opt out, or that there's even that option...This strikes me as just as bad an idea as trying to collect them from prisoners...No one really has the rights to anyone elses organs, UNLESS that individual specifically authorizes it...

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: middlehead

Organ donor programs. Does that sh!t bother you a little bit? Sounds like Joseph Mengele has been sitting in on some of those meetings or something. The thing that bothers me the most about it is they're run by the motor vehicle bureau. I figure, hey, sh!t, if you got to wait on a line that long for a kidney, fvck it. Do without. It's the motor vehicle bureau, in most states, who sends you the little card you're supposed to carry right next to your driver's license, in your wallet. A little card, you're supposed to fill it out, and on it you're supposed to list the organs you're willing to give in case you die. Oh, are these people out of their fvcking minds or something? Do you honestly believe that if a paramedic finds that card on you in an automobile accident, he's going to try to save your life? Bullshit! He's looking for parts, man! Absolutely! "Look Dan, here's that lower intestine we've been looking for. Nevermind the oxygen, this man's a donor!" Bullsh!t, they can have my rectum and my anus. That's all I'm giving, take them and get out of here. Put them in your bag and get the fvck out of my life. That's all I'm giving. I don't want some guy poking around in me hoping I die, I want to live. I don't want to die. That's the whole secret of life...not dying! I figured that sh!t out alone in third grade.

funny but not true. sticker doesn't mean ****** by the way. someone in your family still has to give consent.

 

[FoBoT]

those european countries are socialist, we aren't

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
those european countries are socialist, we aren't

so we should pay dead people for their organs? i'm not sure what that has to do with anything

 

[daniel1113]

I've been in favor of this for years, so "yes".

 

[treemonkey]

I'd only donate my organs if I could pre-approve the recipient. If we started an opt-out system, vagrants would start showing up dead everywhere.

 

[AStar617]

I think I prefer the idea of someone having to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I did opt in to donation, rather than having to prove that I didn't opt out. Seems like such a policy leaves a lot of room for errors with drastic results, and might even affect doctors' decisions on when to declare official time of death, etc. if they want your organ for another patient.

Yes, I'm paranoid.

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: treemonkey
I'd only donate my organs if I could pre-approve the recipient. If we started an opt-out system, vagrants would start showing up dead everywhere.

that might be kind of difficult seeing how you would be dead and all

 

[HamburgerBoy]

No, simply because for all I know my heart could save some bastard's life on death row.

 

[DainBramaged]

If I knew for sure that it would not change the doctors opinion of saving my own life, I would think more about it.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
If I'm dead, I don't care who uses my organs since I won't be needing them. And since I won't be needing them, I'm not going to be selfish and keep my (possibly) functioning organs from helping someone who needs them.

:thumbsup:

 

[AStar617]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
If I'm dead, I don't care who uses my organs since I won't be needing them. And since I won't be needing them, I'm not going to be selfish and keep my (possibly) functioning organs from helping someone who needs them.

:thumbsup:

All fun and games until your death is expedited (or not prevented as diligently) on the table due to a bias plus supply-and-demand for those functioning organs. :thumbsdown:

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: AStar617

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
If I'm dead, I don't care who uses my organs since I won't be needing them. And since I won't be needing them, I'm not going to be selfish and keep my (possibly) functioning organs from helping someone who needs them.

:thumbsup:

All fun and games until your death is expedited (or not prevented as diligently) on the table due to a bias plus supply-and-demand for those functioning organs. :thumbsdown:

Where do you come up with this crap? It's completely irrational



Organ Donation FAQ

Myth. If I agree to donate my organs, my doctor or the emergency room staff won't work as hard to save my life. They'll remove my organs as soon as possible to save somebody else.

Reality. When you go to the hospital for treatment, doctors focus on saving your life ? not somebody else's. You'll be seen by a doctor whose specialty most closely matches your particular emergency. This effectively shuts the door to your being treated by a transplant physician, who works solely with transplant candidates and recipients. The doctor in charge of your care has nothing to do with transplantation.

Are movies, TV scaring off organ donors?

A lot of misconceptions about organ donation are being fed by the entertainment industry, warns Susan Morgan, a Purdue University health communications expert who is tracking how organ donation is portrayed on TV and trying to dispel myths about organ donation in the workplace.

Could you point out a single reputable source to back up your claim?

 

[Conky]

I will never give consent to have my organs harvested (besides my appendix, of course).

Some Billionaire/Governor/Celeb with a matching blood type needs a heart transplant and all of a sudden I died in a traffic stop. Umm, no. My parts are my own and they should just go to China and buy what they need instead of looking at me as a bucket of parts for them to use. :laugh:

 

[KeithTalent]

Definite yes. Heck, you may as well take my brain now, I barely use it.

 

[AStar617]

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: AStar617

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
If I'm dead, I don't care who uses my organs since I won't be needing them. And since I won't be needing them, I'm not going to be selfish and keep my (possibly) functioning organs from helping someone who needs them.

:thumbsup:

All fun and games until your death is expedited (or not prevented as diligently) on the table due to a bias plus supply-and-demand for those functioning organs. :thumbsdown:

Where do you come up with this crap? It's completely irrational



Organ Donation FAQ

Myth. If I agree to donate my organs, my doctor or the emergency room staff won't work as hard to save my life. They'll remove my organs as soon as possible to save somebody else.

Reality. When you go to the hospital for treatment, doctors focus on saving your life ? not somebody else's. You'll be seen by a doctor whose specialty most closely matches your particular emergency. This effectively shuts the door to your being treated by a transplant physician, who works solely with transplant candidates and recipients. The doctor in charge of your care has nothing to do with transplantation.

Are movies, TV scaring off organ donors?

A lot of misconceptions about organ donation are being fed by the entertainment industry, warns Susan Morgan, a Purdue University health communications expert who is tracking how organ donation is portrayed on TV and trying to dispel myths about organ donation in the workplace.

Could you point out a single reputable source to back up your claim?

I'm referring to a possibility in a hypothetical set of circumstances... of course there's no precedent because we've never had such a situation occur.

However, in my mind this is no different from our justice being changed from "innocent until proven guilty" to "guilty until proven innocent" and expecting an individual in a position of power (judge, prosecutor, juror, etc.) to refrain from using it to carry out their own agenda. In the event of uncertaintly, paperwork errors, and the like, it is better for my organs to stay where they are rather than to default to donation.

And for the record, I did lead with a general disclaimer regarding my paranoia, scroll up.

(EDIT for 3am clarity overhaul.)

 

[Pepsei]

if everyone in the organ transplant business makes money, the donor should get some too... let's legalize the selling of organs, it's like additonal insurance money for your love ones when you die.