[Mojojojo]

I just find it really freaky that after i'm dead i'd be cut up and my organs put in someone else. Obviously i'd want to help people but it just seems so weird and quite distressing to think about being cut up after you're dead.
However, i've signed up to donate blood as soon as i turn 17, and will probably do that as regularly as possible if i have the right iron levels/it's safe for me etc.

[Randophera]

I'd probably get flamed for this....but I'm scared that one day, some doctor with a loved one in need of an organ transplant and has a rare match...goes to the big database, looks for a living organ donor that matches, and hires hitmen to murder him/her and make it look like an accident.

Or maybe I'm just being paranoid...but I'd never want to be murdered in that way....

But if I got 100 percent assurance that will never happen, then I don't think I need my organs after I die. But my family has these religious beliefs of "we need a whole body for the afterlife", so nobody in my family ever gets autopsies, and every funeral I've been to ends with a cremation.

[cyfer]

(Original post by MillyPixie)
As far as I'm aware, though I am open to correction, people who cause their own organ failure by drug or alcohol consumption or lifestyle change which will positively otherwise are not placed on a transplant list until they are deserving of a donation - by this I mean that they have made a impact their recovery, be it stopping drinking or drastic weight-loss etc.

Also - I don't think a donation would cure any illness caused by radiation... However, when people work in a sector where the possibility of injury is significantly higher than say an office job, they should be made aware of the dangers so appropriate action may be taken to protect themselves. If they follow all rules and measures to keep themselves safe then fine, all is well and good, but if they choose to ignore advice and find themselves ill, they are as equally detrimental to their ownhealth as if they were morbidly obese or substance abusing.

Radiation can cause cancer which, if it manifests in a particular organ can cause cancer which may be treated by replacing that specific organ.

You can't really protect against being a construction worker due to how often it involves self-employment. Pilots are similarly exposed to very high levels of radiation however they have limits on how many miles they may fly per year. Realistically we cannot curtail the workforce in the construction industry.

[cyfer]

(Original post by MillyPixie)
Also, when you're dead, what rights do you have? By wasting perfectly good organs, you would be denying someone the chance to live a full, healthy life. What about their rights?

A right to dignity perhaps? That is - if people think that dignity involves having their organs intact and being inhumed.

[sarahthegemini]

(Original post by Delta Aitch)
I have a donor card and have chosen to give up my organs when I die, however if it were assumed by the state that I would give up my organs, I would take myself off the register. It's my body and I choose to use it how I see fit, for the state to assume rights over whether or not I give my organs isn't right.

We're talking about saving lives here, is there any reason to be so petty

[trula01]

I actually was considering to provide myself with a written legal document that would state that I want my organs to be used for donation when I will die. If I can save a life like that, why shouldn't I do it?
But also, I am against putting everybody on the list of donors at birth. I believe it should be everyone's choice, but also they should be informed and educate in this spirit of caring about others they don't even know.
For some families, for plenty of them the issue of donating organs of the death is very emotional and against their religious belief. As a consequence is hard to have only one statement concerning this. We are so many and so different!

[zara55]

(Original post by Delta Aitch)
I have a donor card and have chosen to give up my organs when I die, however if it were assumed by the state that I would give up my organs, I would take myself off the register. It's my body and I choose to use it how I see fit, for the state to assume rights over whether or not I give my organs isn't right.

Once again, what on earth does the state have to do with it?? It's a scheme designed to help people who are very sick.

By the same logic, would you refuse to donate blood in the event of a major catastrophe because "the state" would "own the blood"? What a nonsense.

[sarahthegemini]

I really hope those of you that have said you won't donate organs because it's ''weird'' are never in a position where you need to recieve one.

[apollo2113]

I did an extended project on this very topic last year, during which I signed up as a donor for everything. I think presumed consent from birth may be a bit extreme as toddlers won't really have a view on their wishes. However, I think a system of presumed consent would work well if it was assumed from, say age 16, that you are willing to donate. I don't fully understand all the concerns about 'state ownership of my organs' if you disagree that strongly, surely you would take the time and effort to opt out?

I'm sure the majority of people wouldn't turn down a life saving organ transplant, but how many "can't be bothered to fill out the paperwork"? Also, a note on the myth that doctors would let you die to enable them to use your organs, every heard of the hippocratic oath?

[RobML]

(Original post by L i b)
No. I think it's utterly obscene for the state to presume ownership of a person's corpse.

What really gets me is when people put stupid ideals before the wellbeing of others. If people weren't like that there wouldn't be a problem regarding organ donation in this country in the first place

[L i b]

(Original post by RobML)
What really gets me is when people put stupid ideals before the wellbeing of others. If people weren't like that there wouldn't be a problem regarding organ donation in this country in the first place

If people weren't like that, everything from murder, torture, slavery or theft could very easily be justified. Thank **** it isn't, despite your short-sighted irritation.

[RobML]

(Original post by L i b)
If people weren't like that, everything from murder, torture, slavery or theft could very easily be justified. Thank **** it isn't, despite your short-sighted irritation.

Uh, no. Idealism isn't the same thing as common sense, empathy, and basic morals

[Aspiringlawstudent]

No, because I don't see myself dying anytime soon and there is no incentive for me to be one.

If the system changed to opt-out, I would immediately opt-out, however. I loathe the idea of the state assuming it has the right to cut me up and remove my organs when I die.

[tinygirly]

This subject is very sensitive to me (mainly because my little sister had a heart transplant 2 years ago and is having a kidney transplant later this year..) and I think that it SHOULD become an opt out system.
I did believe this even before my sister got ill so it's not a biased view. Most people that refuse to sign up to the register/won't let family member donate when they die would accept an organ willingly if they needed one so to be honest its quite selfish not to sign up. If you'd take an organ yourself then you should sign up.
One of the biggest problems however is not people not signing up to the register, the shortage is due to family members not allowing the organs to be used when the patient has died even if they are on the register....

[tinygirly]

(Original post by DH-Biker)
I signed up after I visited my friend in hospital, though as I was told, there is a section to agree to that on the donor form. Though I would say you can get yourself on a list at your local GP.

Mine was done in the reception of the ward I visited my friend in, I had to go through a twenty minute interview regarding my health, what I ate and drank, why I want to donate, religious beliefs, etc etc. Plus they enquire about other donations too.

But yeah, I imagine any local GP will have a sign on list.

you're lucky your check was that quick...my mum's donating to my sister and she's had months of checks including legal interviews to check that she isn't being paid/forced to do it! haha

[L i b]

(Original post by RobML)
Uh, no. Idealism isn't the same thing as common sense, empathy, and basic morals

It certainly is the same thing as basic morals. The only thing you want to get away with is moral inconsistency.

[alexsasg]

I signed up as a donor yesterday it's not like I need my organs after death anyway.

[RobML]

(Original post by L i b)
It certainly is the same thing as basic morals.

No it's not.

[Data]

(Original post by cyfer)
A right to dignity perhaps? That is - if people think that dignity involves having their organs intact and being inhumed.

That's fine as long as they opt out of any chance to get an organ from anyone else.

[sarahthegemini]

It'd be interesting to see how many of you that aren't prepared to donate your organs would happily recieve an organ from someone else if you needed it. Too many people are prepared to recieve, but so many aren't willing to give because it's "weird" or a "bit creepy" Funny how that'd change if you were on your deathbed.