Organ Donors.
 

Recently the government has suggested that if a person carries an organ donor card and/or is a registered organ donor then the next of kin can no longer countermand the deceased’s wishes upon his/her death.

This is something that is long overdue and I agree with the proposal whole-heartedly.

In fact I would go one step further and instead of people OPTING IN to organ donation I would require people to OPT OUT. So if someone does not want to donate their organs to another when they die they would have to carry an OPT OUT card and/or register their view in a central database.

Once I have breathed my last, the old heart has shuddered to a halt and all brain activity has ceased, they can take whatever bits of me that might be useful to someone to enable them to live a bit longer. They can chuck the remainder on the nearest bonfire or feed it to zoo animals because my body has served its purpose.

I would also be very interested to know the views on organ donation of other than Christian religions.

Re: Organ Donors.
 

why should i cary a card that says i dont want my body shredding to bits to be scavaged over for strangers , if somone wants to dontate their parts they can cary a card saying so

would you like charities taking money at will out of your bank because you hadnt sighned a form saying they cant

i agree that the persons wishes should be help up but if somone wants their organs to be donated they will take the time to pick up a card at the doctors , it isnt hard to do they are right there on the counter at most doctors reception desks

its people thinking that way that led to peoples deceased children been kept in bottles and dicected for experiments at that hospital a few years ago

my parts are my own and until i sighn a paper saying otherwise they rot or burn with teh rest of me

well apart from whats in storage at the hospital already ,they can do what they want with that :)

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i don't believe in it, but thats just me.

I agree wholeheartedly with the OPTING OUT BIT.
I carry an organ card in my purse, one in my bikers jacket and it is decared on my driving licence. My whole family know how strong i feel about donating my body parts and how important it is to me. I am a firm believer that if you are prepared to take donors parts and even blood donations then you should be more prepared to give.
I am also on the blood bone marrow donors list. This is a simple test to have done, they just take an extra little bit of blood at the blood donors and send it off.

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I look at it this way that if I cop my lot then what use are my bits and pieces that are left. Might as well give them to someone who can be saved and could live many years more than without. Why relatives want all the bits and bobs beats me especially when they will either be barbequed or left to rot in a hole. If I decree that I want my "leftovers" to be used to save someone then I dont think anyone should stop that. Several people could live andsomeone could see again. Now thats the kind of legacy I would like to leave when I croak.

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I'm in the same bus as most on here, take what you want from my body. Aslo re opting out, all in favour again, the analogy of money doesn't stack up as its still useful to you. After you are dead your body is worthless to you but of unmeasureable value to someone else. People don't remember the physical, they remember the soul.

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I agree with all comments so far - it is the wish of the donor that should be uppermost

I carry the card, all my nearest and dearest know my views, I registered online for the organ donor register

However to take the pressure of the medico's, I think we might follow the Scandinavian model of " required request " in which, by law, the doctors in dealing with all cases where there has been a death - they have to , by law, ask the relatives, where no card is carried or registered as a donor, if they would consider donation

Most relatives at that point are too lost in their own grief and the doctors/nurses feel a bit timid of raising the subject

It would take the pressure off the medical proffesion who would then say "we have to ask by law" and may just give relative a nudge and time to think about the long term

I speak from experience of losing a son at 1 day old many years ago now, and now knowing of all the other babes that could have been helped if only we were asked. We were too racked with grief at the time and it was only later, hearing of other babies dying waiting for heart transplants etc that I asked the question " why weren't we asked ? " to be met with the reply - " well, we didn't like to ask at that time " - if they had been required by law to at least ask, the pressure would have been off the medical staff and it might have focussed our minds and alieviated our grief to know that at least we might help another child to live a happy and fulfilled life

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I have also registered on line and all my family know it is my wish to donate whatever organs they wish to use.
They will be of no use to me and if I can help just one person by my death then my life has not been for nothing.

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i did say that i agreed that families should not be able to cancel teh wishes of teh donar card carrier

what i disagree with is unless you say otherwise your body can be plundered for parts

if you want to donate organs carry a card saying so

if it is altered so that anyone not carying a card forbidding their organs to be taken all sorts of things will happen

in some countries the homeless and other vulnerable people are murdered for body parts

aslo some religeons forbid the giving and excepting of organs , not sure about organs but jehovas witnesses for instance are not allowed blood transfusions

the sysyem that is in place works fine as it is,if somone feels so strongly that they want to donate organs they do somthing about it ie: carry a card saying so

if anything been an organ donator shoud be harder to do with all the diseases around today

if i remember correctly a few years ago there was a big fuss about people buying and selling organs on teh internet to the highest bidder , either poor people queing up to sell a kindney or people selling their family members body parts and lets face it in some countries it isnt unheard of for somone to slaughter a family member for a few quid :)

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I also have an organ donor card and wish more people just understood how important an issue it was. Not sure I'd go as far as an opt out. Some, my wife included, can only picture their body parts being harvested and it is pretty freaky. I'm certainly fine with that. For me it's just a empty shell by then and would just end up rotting anyhow.

Would like to see more information given out to the public. I think many over here don't really give it much thought. I did notice when I got my license renew (every 4 years), they asked if I wanted to be a donor and it goes right onto your license. I imagine that has brought alot more people into agreeing to it.

Brian

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Is that bound by law or just like carrying a donar card that can be challanged by surviving relatives?

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Now theres a thought. Blackmail them with a haunting if my bits n bobs are not used for a someone in need of them more than me. :D

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It all depends on what drugs you have been taking
I cant give blood as i am on heart drugs so i dont know it they would use the organs
But if they are of any use they can have them .
but Anne says she is keeping the STENTS as they are worth £6000

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She planning on flogging them on eBay? :D

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Thats it Mick no hiding now. Anne will be out with the metal detector hunting you. :p

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i too have agreed to being a donor but only for certain parts of my body,my husband has told me he would refuse to let them take anything from me ,im glad that he cant have a choice in the matter anymore it should be at the donors request to have it done,

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This is something i'm interested in becoming, i don't know where or when the blood donor sessions are in Accrington. As for the organ donor part of it, they can have whatever they want, just as long as they replace the parts with bricks. I don't want my coffin bearers having an easier time. lol

I'd like to think that my organs could give a parent or grandparent a few more years with thier loved one's.

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Just wondered what you all thought about the new experiments in womb transplants. I think, if they can get this right, is a brilliant innovation for those women who long to produce their own offspring. Certainly better than the surrogate mothers who must go through problems when handing over the baby, and also the risk they put themselves at.

Don't quite understand the reports, but looks like it may come with ovaries and all, and, as the donor would be deceased, strong possiblities that there would be no claim on the child.

Maybe, could be their own flesh and blood if they took eggs before the patient lost their womb .. not sure? but anyway, what joy it would bring to some couples.

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Not to sure on that kat but then a few comments that could come wouldnt help. This is only because I start to think of all the kids that need adopting and nothing more sinister than that.

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Yeh, but at the end of the day Spuggie, nowt like yer own, is there ? and you got that already. You throwing in a Red Herring there methinks.

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Sherbet dip caught out! :o:o:o:o:o Yes I have my own "HOOLI" but untill it is proven to work I will reserve judgement.

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I have nothing against a couple receiving medical help if they cannot conceive by the tried and tested method but isn’t it storing up future problems for the offspring?

What I mean is that if the inability to become pregnant or father a child is down to a genetic malfunction, won’t that same or similar malfunction be passed on to the resultant baby? Then she or he will have the same sort of problem and so it goes on and on.

Don’t take this too harshly but if a woman is unable to conceive or a man unable to father a child, isn’t that nature’s way of saying, “hang on we have a defective person here and we don’t want to pass the defect on to further generations.”

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Re: Organ Donors.
 

Try this link:
http://www.blood.co.uk/pages/search.asp

I've been donating blood here in the USA since college days (smart college gave the dormitory with the highest percentage of residents donating a keg of beer! My dorm made a point of always winning the "Blood Keg!"). Thank you in advance for becoming a blood donor - I've sent a bit of karma your way!

I'm going to speak about organ donation from a slightly different angle. Earlier this year, I lost my wife. She had been on dialysis for more than three years as a complication of insulin-dependent diabetes. She had been diabetic from the age of ten, but had taken great care of herself, so that she still had her eyesight and her feet and legs (not to mention her life) after 49 years with this insidious disease. Had a kidney been available to her, the odds that she would still be alive are very high. Had I been eligible to donate one of my kidneys to her, I would not have hesitated for a moment. Many more organ donors are needed, but many folks will not be bothered to fill out the donor card.

I've seen the dialysis ward, and made friends with many patients who "disappear" forever for want of a kidney that someone else no longer needs. I've also seen the huge improvement in both health and quality of life for those lucky ones who find a donor in time. Anyone who has been there knows what they should do regarding a donor card.

I think that the concept of "opting out" is excellent. Just give folks the opportunity to opt out each time the drivers license is renewed. Also, provide a website so that folks who wish to opt out can do so at their convenience. With today's technology, a national database that hospitals can access would also be possible so that carrying a card would not be necessary. No one should be forced to donate, but I do think that the principle of having the default process serve the greater good for the greater number of people is a wise policy.

To put it bluntly, when folks lives are at stake, I have very little use for those who choose to hoard kidneys (or other organs) that they no longer have a use for. It is your right to do so, but exercising that right is an awfully selfish act!

Re: Organ Donors.
 

:( Thank you for sharing that with us Billcat.

A friend of mine died in her 30s whilst waiting for a transplant that never happened.

When a person is dead they no longer need their organs and I cannot understand how anyone can not want to help others to live. I know I do.

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If they did do an opting out thing then i hope you could opt out of certain things like you have to chose what you want to give. Because iv got a funny thing about my eyes, and i have a card that says they can have except my retinas. They could have other stuff aswell if they can find a use for it

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Having it right on the drivers' license probably isn't bound by law but I don't think many over here would challenge "a dying wish" of a loved one!

Billcat, so sorry for your loss!:(

On a much lighter note, I wish I went to your college.:cool:

Brian

Re: Organ Donors.
 

I accept that every single person has the right to decree what happens to their bodies on their demise. This includes parents making the decision on behalf of their children under 12 or 13 years of age. I feel that a 12 years old child is perfectly capable of making that decision for him/herself if given all the facts and not pressured into going one way or the other. Maybe a lesson or two in school would help?

I doubt if there are many people around who would NOT ACCEPT an organ from someone else, except Jehovah Witnesses and any other religious sect that bars such things to postpone death. But to be prepared to accept an organ and object to giving one of theirs is a very selfish act.

Maybe the system should include some way where a person who is not prepared to offer their organs after death, should not be eligible to receive an organ should they ever need it. In other words a potential recipient of an organ should have already declared themselves as a potential organ donor BEFORE they had a need for a donated organ themselves in order to be eligible to receive a donated organ.

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Sorry about the double post. The forum is misbehaving for me today.

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There are many different ways, not only genetic, as to why people may be sterile.

A woman may become sterile after catching chlamydia, or as a result of an ectopic pregnancy.

Helping people like this to have the family they might crave surely isn't wrong.

After all without the advancements of medical science that we have now, a lot of you old ones would have passed over to the other side.

Or are you cheating nature, just as you suggest Mother Nature makes people sterile to avoid passing on defects to future generations?:D

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In case anyone's interested - you can register online

http://www.livelifethengivelife.co.uk/links.php

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Unless I have suddenly lost the ability to read and write in English I never mentioned anything about non-genetic conceiving problems. Nor did I say that it was wrong to help families who cannot have children for other reasons.

But then that is what I have come to expect from some correspondents. They try to put words into my mouth.

It isn’t just the older ones who would probably not be here if it wasn’t for medical intervention. Many youngsters wouldn’t get past their teenage years let alone well into adulthood.

My only point was I was ASKING if it wasn’t storing up problems for the future if a couple cannot have offspring for genetic reasons, yet are helped to do so.

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I agree with jambytty it should br opt out
if people are so aginst it the would be sure to opt out
but people just forget or dont get round to opting in

would save lots of lives to
that cant be bad

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I agree with jambytty it should br opt out
if people are so aginst it they would be sure to opt out
but people just forget or dont get round to opting in

would save lots of lives to
that cant be bad

Re: Organ Donors.
 

Since when did I become a correspondent? This is neither a letter nor a newpaper...however back to the thread.

I don't have the ability to put words in anyone's mouth, I can however quote what you originally said-


"Don’t take this too harshly but if a woman is unable to conceive or a man unable to father a child, isn’t that nature’s way of saying, “hang on we have a defective person here and we don’t want to pass the defect on to further generations.”

Black and white and clear for everyone to see what you said.

Re: Organ Donors.
 

Quote:

Since when did I become a correspondent? This is neither a letter nor a newpaper...

Since the first day that you made your first post garinda.

Correspondent - a person who writes letters, especially on a regular basis.
You may argue that your post is not a letter as such, however:
Letter - a written, typed, or printed communication, sent by post or messenger.
Your post is a printed communication sent by messenger – the Internet.

However I have no intention of arguing semantics (the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text.) with you.

Anyone can take a piece out of context and make it mean something else, which is what you have done and I can quote what I originally wrote.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty I have nothing against a couple receiving medical help if they cannot conceive by the tried and tested method but isn’t it storing up future problems for the offspring? What I mean is that if the inability to become pregnant or father a child is down to a genetic malfunction, won’t that same or similar malfunction be passed on to the resultant baby? Then she or he will have the same sort of problem and so it goes on and on. Don’t take this too harshly but if a woman is unable to conceive or a man unable to father a child, isn’t that nature’s way of saying, “hang on we have a defective person here and we don’t want to pass the defect on to further generations.”

The sentence that you refer to was part of the point about the inability to conceive due to genetic reasons. It was not a stand alone comment.

Re: Organ Donors.
 

This is an excellent idea. Totally agree, unless there is a medical reason for why somebody couldn't donate.

Just found out where & when my next blood donor session is. Thanks for link Billcat. I've put a reminder in my phone.

http://www.blood.co.uk/pages/search.asp

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My girlfriend & i have both just signed up. Thanks for the link.

:)

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What about children though AccyJay, are they allowed to agree to donate their organs ?

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I'm with Jambutty on this one.

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Still a little unclear here ... ok .. parents, at present, can make the decision once the child has passed away, however, goes on to say that a 12 year old is perfectly capable of making the decision to sign up for donors card, but under this age is what I am getting at. A 2-year old dies and heart passed on to new born.. who, obviously, would not be capable of applying for a donor's card and, therefore, could not accept a donated organ. So what happens then ? Would be quite a few anomalies and grey areas in this thinking.
Am I making sense ? :confused:

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I always like to repeat my points of view, gives it more clout like ... teehee.

Actually, just a double post.

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Still a little unclear here ... ok .. parents can make the decision once the child has passed away, however, goes on to say that a 12 year old is perfectly capable of making the decision to sign up for donors card, but under this age is what I am getting at. A 2-year old dies and heart passed on to new born.. they would not be allowed to apply for a donor's card at 2-year old surely, and parents not right to sign up for them if they themselves are in need of a donor. Am I making sense ? :confused:

Re: Organ Donors.
 

Still a little unclear here ... ok .. parents can make the decision once the child has passed away, however, goes on to say that a 12 year old is perfectly capable of making the decision to sign up for donors card, but under this age is what I am getting at. A 2-year old dies and heart passed on to new born.. they would not be allowed to apply for a donor's card at 2-year old surely, and parents not right to sign up for them if they themselves are in need of a donor. Am I making sense ? :confused:

Re: Organ Donors.
 

Still a little unclear here ... ok .. parents can make the decision once the child has passed away, however, goes on to say that a 12 year old is perfectly capable of making the decision to sign up for donors card, but under this age is what I am getting at. A 2-year old dies and heart passed on to new born.. they would not be allowed to apply for a donor's card at 2-year old surely, and parents not right to sign up for them if they themselves are in need of a donor. Am I making sense ? :confused:

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Well, it was the college the movie Animal House was based on (Chris Miller, Class of 1963 wrote the original stories and co-wrote the screenplay). The Alpha Delta house at Dartmouth College. All the antics make a whole lot more sense when one understands that Dartmouth was an all-male college a long, long way from the big cities and women's colleges, a relatively bright group of young men will get up to all kinds of mischief. Especially when there is no risk of finding oneself red-faced in front of a group of young ladies! When the college went co-ed in the early 1970's the civilizing impact of women calmed the place down a good bit.

We viewed giving blood a a kind of macho thing. The chance to win a keg of beer didn't hurt, either, nor did the homemade chocolate chip cookies that were available after you gave your pint! I still give blood regularly, but it's nowhere near so much fun.

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I have just updated my details on the donation register. I have been meaning to do it for some time now.
Thanks for the link. I would still be getting round to it.

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So why then did you do just that?:D

This forum is neither a letter or a newsparper.

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No.

Kate did you press the post button several times to get all those popsts or did you click the back button and post again or did you press refresh a few times. Please PM me with how you did it so as not to be off thread, I am trying to understand how people are getting the double post problem.

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I just did the test and they don't want my blood. No not 'cus of any of the sex questions but because I have recently had surgery.

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They don't want my blood, does that mean no one wants my organ?

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Any hereditary disease can crop up at any time. They can skip generations affect only males or only females. With some you need a gene that is faulty from both parents to be affected so it can be a lottery the same as life. Its bad enough having these problems but if you have the cash you can have a healthy baby by having it screened before birth. End result that if its not perfect then it can be aborted. Welcome to the age of disease free designer babbies.

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Was there not a case not long ago where due to the need for compatible doner a couple decided to have the "perfect baby" for this very reason??

I am anti abortion and hate it when it is used because the woman did not take any precautions. I know a lady who had 1 too many abortions and now that she is married and wants a family she cant. She would proberly jump at the chance of a transplant.

Proberly best to leave the abortion issue for another thread.

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this is a bit too close to home after what hapenned at the childrens hospital in Liverpool.When all said and done there are two sides to the subject but i would like to have the choice before any of my bits are given away.Would you have to donate if you were just brain dead?

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Well updated details on the donor website and feel a lot better. Yet to discuss with my daughter though.

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i hear my local church is in need of a new organ , anyone with a donar card who can help please get in touch :)

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Hi Mik!

Not sure how they define death in the UK, but here in the USA, a person who has suffered brain death (i.e., the electroencephalogram shows no brain activity, pupils are fixed and dialated, and other low-order brain functions such as the gag reflex, are not present) is legally and clinically dead. Ventilators and other machines may stop the other organs from failing for a while, but there is no prospect for recovery. In other words, brain dead IS dead.

With my wife's death earlier this year, I've had to learn a lot more about this than I ever wished to know. She had an advance health directive which help me thorough making some very painful decisions. I cannot urge folks strongly enough about the importance of completing these "living wills." The patient gets what he or she desires and the family has the blessing of having guidance for the correct decisions.

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I'm willing, but I'm not sure that the congregation would enjoy the music my organs make!:Banane08: