To me everyone should be. Think it’s kind of selfish to let viable organs go to waste when people are in need for them.
In some US states, it’s opt out when you get ID or drivers license. I think that’s a better way to go about it
Submitted 2 weeks ago by Patnou@lemmy.world to [deleted]
To me everyone should be. Think it’s kind of selfish to let viable organs go to waste when people are in need for them.
In some US states, it’s opt out when you get ID or drivers license. I think that’s a better way to go about it
I very much agree. Also, in a lot of places, that indicator on your license is not legally binding, the decision still comes down to your next of kin.
A system where everyone is a donor by default, but can opt out in a low-effort manner such as sending off a signed declaration, would still allow those with a genuine desire not to be donors the ability to do so, but would greatly increase the donor pool by capturing the majority of indifferent people who simply have not made the effort to opt in.
Opt out is fair at a minimum. Driving is the most dangerous thing we do, and if you’re going to do it, there’s an argument to be made that throwing your organ donor chip into the pot is the least you could do, because you could very well cause an accident someday that costs someone their life.
I agree with you, but as someone who does not drive, I still get a state ID with my organ donor status. If the law is opt-out, it would apply for anyone getting an ID, not just drivers.
I know someone who works in the organ donation industry, and that’s what’s made me question wanting to be an organ donor more than anything. The dilemma for me boils down to 1. You need to not be dead dead for your organs to be harvested 2. We are not really that good at determining what’s good enough dead vs definitely alive but seems dead when time is critical, doctors are busy, and there’s people actively pressuring for the transplant to happen.
I think few people would object to it if they were told it was an option, but the default is “no” in most countries and many people just don’t think to opt in.
I don’t even have an organ. Hell I don’t even know how to play one!
If you sit down and give the topic all due fair consideration, yes, there’s only one rational conclusion. However about of people just don’t want to think about dying, period, and will switch off on anything that makes them do so. I’m sure there are also misinformed people who think their organs can be freely stolen even if they’re not dead yet if they check that box.
I’m not justifying these people, mind you. I’m just describing how it happens. There is no good reason, but there are reasons.
Some people such as myself can neither be blood nor organ donors because their bodies are undesirable.
Examples: Cancer, Leukemia, HIV, TB, Leiden V Factor, etc.
People with such issues are often incompatible donors.
Also severe allergies. I’ve been told I couldn’t be an organ donor due to anaphylaxis. You can donate blood with heterozygous Leiden V factor though.
That’s definitely not true. When I was waiting for lungs I originally said I only wanted a high quality organ but I got so sick I signed a waiver saying I would take whatever, some things will disqualify you sure but even things like HIV are fine because it’s considered something that can be managed with meds.
That’s definitely not true. some things will disqualify you sure but even things like HIV are fine because it’s considered something that can be managed with meds.
Then you must bot live in the USA and have country requirements are different than the USA:
quote: ‘Very few medical conditions permanently disqualify someone from donating. The short list includes active, spreading cancer and certain infectious diseases: HIV/AIDS (with an important exception discussed below), active hepatitis B or C, active tuberculosis, MRSA infections, and prion diseases like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. These conditions pose a direct transmission risk to the recipient that can’t be managed.’
source:
My only problem with organ donation in the US is the recipient gets a huge bill, including $86,000 for the actual liver. The donors family gets nothing.
So if some gets into an accident and eventually dies, and is a donor, the family gets a massive bill, and the hospital makes $1M from the recipient.
If the donor’s family were paid, it would no longer be a donation, it would be a sale. That opens the door for things like trafficking people to sell their organs.
And the hospital doesn’t really make a ton of money from the transplant, they get paid for the entire stay. And if you are there for a transplant you need a ton of care and it costs the hospital a ton of money to take care of you. US hospitals are not a huge money making business.
it would no longer be a donation, it would be a sale.
A friend’s father received a liver, among the line items of the $1.05M bill was $86,000 for the liver. So yes, organs are being sold.
US hospitals are not a huge money making business.
We’ll stop there.
Instant flashback to Repo! The Genetic Opera. The future where “Upgrading” organ has become a fashion statement, and financing organs the norm. If you can’t pay your debt, expect the Repo Man, The Night Surgeon!
People are being a bit cynical in the comments, so I’ll share my experience which is a bit different.
I felt an irrational fear when I checked the box to become an organ donor a few years ago.
I rationally knew it was the right thing to do, but it felt bad nonetheless. Nowadays I just no longer think about it.
So my guess is that many people are scared of it, but no one wants to admit that.
I am an organ donor myself but there are a few different reasons people are not
superstition and religious beliefs. Some religions are against it.
a belief that doctors won’t try as hard to save them if they can use their organs to save more people
Mine is reason 2. Ideally yes, the system is set up to not allow for that, but I think we all know that corrupt people tend to find ways around “foolproof” systems.
Mind you, my organs probably aren’t worth a darn anyway, but again, some people won’t care about that.
Some people do put way too much faith in those in authority following rules
My worry that I’m probably going to write into my AD next time I revise it is that they won’t anesthetize me enough to soothe whatever dregs are left of my brain into it’s good night.
My dad was an organ donor when his brain died. The next day after the 24 hour period to confirm brain death, I was sitting with my brother and stepmother waiting to have the plug pulled when a lady walked into the room and introduced herself “as part of my father’s care team.” I don’t remember much of what she said because I was focused on waiting for the end and she wasn’t wearing scrubs so I didn’t really care what she had to say, but she left and after another couple hours I learned that she was from the Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) for our State, my dad was a donor, and they weren’t pulling the plug until they took him to a different hospital for organ harvesting.
The rest of that day was a blur but my stepmom was pissed, the next morning my dad’s body was in the same room, that lady was apparently fired, there was a new guy and gal as well as their boss to talk with us, they told us they weren’t going away. Eventually they agreed to perform the harvesting surgery there so we could walk to the OR with him. We were asked if we wanted a “hero walk” where the nurses and doctors take time away from actually helping people to clap for a corpse being walked down the hall, which was the dumbest fucking thing I’d ever heard of.
I wasn’t there when my dad’s brain died in the middle of the night. I thought I’d be there as his body functions shut down over the course of a half hour, but instead the last I saw of him before he was cremated was his still breathing corpse being pushed down a hallway. I got a text that his heart had stopped a couple hours later.
Across North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin there are only something like 350 organ donations a year because the body needs to be either very fresh and preserved or brain dead to keep the organs intact for harvesting. If you are a donor, it is very unlikely that your organs will actually be donated, but if they are, it can add a whole extra layer of shitty to an already awful situation for the family. Obviously this is just my experience and it’s probably unusual for people to be fired so it was probably an especially bad one, but you asked and this is my answer to your question. I’m still not sure if I’m going to be a donor next time I renew my license. I don’t think I will until I add a stipulation to my will to allow my family to override it if they feel a need to.
Religion
I know some people fear that they could end up in the hospital with something not life-threatening but the doctors would harvest their organs and kill them.
It’s not a rational fear, but people do be thinking that sometimes.
There are religions that forbid it. A lot of people just don’t care either.
Nothing in the bible about it.
Not every religion uses the Bible.
Primitive tribes and increasingly many modern Sky Daddy children think they will need the organs after they die
I’ve got a family member who has heard tell of folks having their organs harvested while still alive, and that’s enough for them to say no. Helps them sleep at night, so fair enough. Your peace of mind has value.
Also I think maybe the catholics are against it? It would fit their whole schtik. Can’t day I care enough about what they think to find out though.
While it is the right thing to do, it’s the final fuck you from hospital corporations as you still get billed for everything before death, and they bill the recipient >$1M. Organ donation is big money.
Conspiracy theories and actual corruption.
People are afraid doctors will kill them to get the organs. Doctors don’t want to deal with those accusations so will not take organs without clear consent from family. Some places are actually opt-out, doctors have enough legal protection and public trust is high enough that doctors will take organs without waiting for consent from family. In other places…
I remember some case from Poland where as a part of corruption case doctor was accused of killing a patient to harvest his organs. The patient was allegedly in a coma and the doctor disconnected him from life support to get the organs. This was clearly a witch hunt, all the other doctors got scared and transplantations in the entire country went down as a result.
So in many places people simply don’t trust the doctors and will not give consent. There’s also a lot of superstition and religious thinking involved.
I’m a donor (woe betide whoever gets anything from me) but I totally understand not being OK with it. This guy says we won’t need them, but that’s unknowable. Maybe there’s a bunch of donors at the gate not being let in until the rest of them gets there. But if ever you have a right to claim ownership over anything, it’s your body. Your organs aren’t collective property others have a right to. You fuck off, these are my organs is a totally reasonable position.
To me everyone should beHave you ever pondered about the logical implications of this way of thinking?
That’s why I would ask could I meet the person it is going to? Or ask how old they are or something.
This is a line of thought I had not considered.
It wasn’t that long ago that doctors had to go grave robbing at night, risking their careers and freedom, just to be able to get access to the human cadavers needed to advance medical science. Christianity has always had a real problem with people adding or removing things from the human body, and the effects of that are still echoing all around the western world in many many ways.
As a person who nearly died waiting on a new set of lungs the answers in here are absolutely wild and disappointing for the most part
Are the recipients or hospital going to pay for my funeral? If no, they can get bent. As someone who works in the admin side of healthcare, it’s just Take, take, take from all sides.
I mean…some organs you do not want. Like my colon. You do NOT want my colon.
Logic says my liver SHOULD be dead by now, but somehow I’ve had no issues. Sooooooo, maybe give it to an alcoholic? Apperently booze has no impact on my liver. How it survived my 20s, I’ll never know.
And my brain??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh, sorry. I was just imagining what it would be like if a silverback gorilla decided it wanted to tickle you. Because what are you gonna do? Get tickled by a gorilla, that’s what! Oh, also, my brain is weird. Probably don’t want anyone being given that.
You think it’s kind of selfish because you’re a rational person. The reasons people aren’t organ donors are because the thought of surgery makes them squeamish ignoring the fact that you’ll be dead and won’t feel it, and the other reason is because they think they need to take the organs with them to heaven. It’s mostly religious nuts.
It should be opt out, not opt in.
I don’t give a fuck. Take 'em when I go, if you want. I doubt they’ll be any good, but recycling’s ‘in’ these days, so …
Chronical illnesses. For different reasons, both my wife and I are “unfit” both for organ and blood donations.
Choosing not to be an organ donor basically translates to: “Letting my organs rot (or burn) is more important to me than saving someone’s life.” In other words: only petty, spiteful, inconsiderate cunts refuse to be donors, just so they can continue being fucktards for a little while longer after dying. And an extra fuck you to people who actually make the effort to opt out in systems where opt-in is the default.
Same for people who choose not to vaccinate, by the way. “I don’t care about anyone around me and I will keep doing whatever the fuck I want, no matter how many people I may infect or kill.”
In both cases: Fuck you. May you be forced to walk barefooted on legos forever.
DISCLAIMER (because we all know I need one): I purposefully said “choose.” Some people cannot be donors or get vaccinated for reasons outside their control. Obviously I do not mean them.
LMAO. Literally I had to take a crap laughing so hard. I just got this vision of the devil getting pissed off people walking on hot coals he’s just like we will lego this bitch. Thanks for the laugh this morning…have a wonderful day
Lucky_Acid@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
In my experience, some of the people that I have met that aren’t organ donors are afraid that the hospitals and doctors will do less to save you if you’re in an accident so that they can use all of your organs to “save” many more people. It’s dumb, but I’ve met a scary amount of folks who believe that.
lemmyman@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s not entirely unjustified.
A Push for More Organ Transplants Is Putting Donors at Risk
YellowParenti@lemmy.wtf 2 weeks ago
There’s also the chance you’ll get sold to be blown up
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
On the other hand, they would have let her die if she was not a donor.
Poxlox@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s crazy to see validated conspiracy right there out the NYT. As it reads, seems these procurement companies need to stop influencing doctors.
treadful@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I don’t want to provide any profit incentive for my death. Same reason life insurance makes me uncomfortable as well. It’s not rational.