Was reading the thread here about free health care and I wondered how many people here were organ donors and what people thought about it? Obviouslty there are religious issues for some and ethical ones for others but some such as Redjolt argue things a different away as see in his article here
In theory it is a wonderful thing and I have no issues having my body parts being used to help someone after I die. I will never pre-agree to give my parts. My wife will know when it okay to do that, and it will only be after they have fully exhausted every attempt to save my life. I am simply not trusting enough of others to believe that should I end up in a car accident and wind up in some random hospital where they are desperately waiting for a particular part, that I have, that they wont deviate from the care they would've provided if I were not a donor. Simply, my wife will decide when I am dead and past help, not some doctor who may very well be trying to save someone else. The person who will decide for me will have only my interests at stake. A doctor may realize that one of two patients will die and he can only save one. He may decide that the other guy has a better chance of survival, he may not really care which one he saves at the end of the day. My family and I do care, it ain't going to be me who dies if it don't have to be. (Just read the link and whoever wrote that sounds like a first class asshole.) p.s. Hmm, just noticed that the story site and your user name are very similar. I guess if the shoe fits. By the way, pretty lame to post in P&R just to get people to go to your own site. That is not what this forum section is for.
i have given the ok to use any part of me for whatever reason after i die. Id like my organs to be considered for transplants and the rest of me donated to science, but if they just want to throw my corpse off a tall building to test a new design of hard hat, that's ok too. ps. why are you referring to yourself in the third person?
Such a horrible way to promote your own site. I am not a public organ donor. My wife knows what I want. I don't need a Dr. deciding it. browntwn said it right there. And why the heck would you agree with presumed donors? That is the MOST single retarded thing I have seen on this forum. Even more retarded than palestine are not terrorrists, there is a God, and Bush is a war criminal. Congratulations, you have singlehandedly taken the cake with that one. Congratulations, your a donor. I've hooked myself up directly to someone to give them blood. I am not allowed to donate blood except to the military. The Red Cross says being in Iraq is a disqualifier But, it is not up to government to decide that my organs should automatically be given away. That is just RETARDED.
Why is it retarded? Having an opt-out register rather than an opt-in register merely increases the number of people who will donate their organs, and those who have strong feelings like you do (and you are totally justified in feeling that way) can simply opt-out. I have to disagree however with your desire to put the power of what happens in your wife's hands. In the UK there have been a series of cases in the law courts where we have seen doctors gaining the power to act against the wishes of wives/families due to acting in the interests of the greater good (albeit with a specific focus in each case). For me this is a welcome change in a public health system such as the UK where the state foots the bill - however I do see the room for greater argument in America where the health care system is organised in a different way. Perhaps therefore the questino of whether to have an opt-in register depends on the nature of the health care system?
That could be. I However, you guys must have some screwed up case law if you have it where the doctor can "act for the greater good" instead of following a legal medical power of attorney. If a dr. did that here he would be put in jail, sued, and loose his license faster than he can finish the transplant. Dr.'s can only do what they are told to do (except emergency lifesaving things while the Next of Kin is located, and that is only on you, not taking your organs). Before they harvest the NOK has to sign a form.
I'll be 'opting in' to the donor program here in the UK very soon. I think that every person in the UK should automatically be opted in, but given the chance to 'opt out' if they wish. This is what happens in Spain.
One of the Journalist on My blog wrote this article "Ohio couple believes hospital intentionally killed son for his organs" To enhance this thread (Sorry if this post seems like thread hijacking), when is it appropriate to remove organs from a donor?
I'm undecided. One thing I've considered though, is donating my entire body to science. To be honest, it's not really out of a desire to help strangers, it's just that it would save so much money. I can't believe how much people spend on funerals! You can find medical institutions that will pay for shipment of the body, the small portion of your body they don't use they will cremate, and send back to your family for free. So far, I believe that is the closest to what I want when I die, but really hard for me to commit. I don't like the idea of death including donating organs, being embalmed, cut open, cremated, buried, being stuck in a vault etc...don't like any of it, at all. edit: Look at this, the article is OK, but the comments are the most interesting. It's really sad. I didn't count all the comments, but I'll bet there are over a hundred of them!