Posted on 08/26/2006 9:39:03 AM PDT by The Cuban
Organ donations save lives.
NB. Of course, I did not mean to put an apostrophe in a simple plural of "kidneys".
"How much money would be paid to someone who allowed a "hopeless" case to die, if a person with $10,000 or $50,000 was to offer it. OOPSY, we just lost another one. Send it downstairs.
"
How cynical. Do you know of a single case in this country where such a thing has happened? I do not. Nobody in the hospital works alone. If you're that seriously ill, there are many, many people involved in your care. Do you suppose that nobody's paying attention.
Having just lost my father-in-law this week, I can tell you that much attention is paid to end of life issues. He died at home, under hospice care, just four days ago. He was surrounded by hospice nurses and other caregivers, along with his wife, three daughters, and myself.
Believe me, nobody would have been able to do anything other than follow his wishes, which were to be allowed to die without further treatment. He was too old to be an organ donor, but would have. If that had been the case, he would have been in a hospital, with even more people involved.
It's your choice to be cynical. I'm sorry for you, though.
IMy license to renew comes up soon. I will change my organ donation from yes to no at that time since I now know that I have no control over where my organs go. Apparently there ara prisoners who are serving life sentences who are just as eligible for organ donations as productive members of society. That just isn't right either.
Well, yes, of course. I wasn't really posting to you, personally. Just adding my two-cents' worth.
My reason for not donating. From all I've heard about transplants, the donor is not dead. The donor has to be alive to donate. Perhaps, I could be just "brain dead" when my heart or liver was taken, but maybe just not functioning really, really well. Also, anesthetics cannot be used to ease any pain. I really don't want my last moments on earth to be spent in excruciating pain. If one of my organs was needed by one of my children or grandchildren, then, and only then, would it be considered. My children know this.
...also, the kitchen staff of a restaurant will spit (or worse) in your food if they don't like your looks or if you didn't tip enough the last time you visited the establishment.
Thank you! My wife is alive today because someone like you checked 'yes'.
The entire donation process is complicated and well regulated. There is none of this "chop 'em up and sell the parts on the open market" I hear about constantly (maybe in China). Nobody I've met in the medical profession is going to trade one life (donor) for another (recepient).
"IMy license to renew comes up soon. I will change my organ donation from yes to no at that time since I now know that I have no control over where my organs go. Apparently there ara prisoners who are serving life sentences who are just as eligible for organ donations as productive members of society. That just isn't right either."
It's your choice. What do you suppose the probability is that some prisoner would get your organs, though? I'm thinking it would be very small.
So, you see, your decision may well mean that someone to whom you would have been happy to see get your organs will not, simply because of your unreasonable fear that your organs would go to someone you wouldn't think worthy.
But it's your choice, of course. I'm sorry to hear the basis on which you make it, though.
I disagree......organs from donors are regularly rejected for just the fact the person was a smoker.....up to and including corneas.
"The entire donation process is complicated and well regulated. There is none of this "chop 'em up and sell the parts on the open market" I hear about constantly (maybe in China). Nobody I've met in the medical profession is going to trade one life (donor) for another (recepient)."
I'm with Walter Williams on this one.
Are you over the age of 45?
I ask, because it seems people with your same fear tend to be younger and change their minds about being a donor as they get older. Just my observation.
"hmmm, i know things vary from one location to another, but
i would think checking the yes box would override your familys
wishes. it's your body and you've made your wishes public.
i could be wrong on that tho. "
Theoretically yes, but in practice, no. If a hospital wanted to override a family's wishes they legally could, but they don't.
"organ donor cards (or, similarly, the affirmative designation found on drivers’ licenses in many states) have not had a substantial effect on increasing the supply of organs and tissues available for transplantation. Although a donor card or a donor designation on a driver’s license meets the legal requirement of an advance directive, many health provider personnel are reluctant to rely solely on the donor card for authorization to remove organs for transplantation purposes. Instead, in response to public concern after the passage of many state UAGAs, many requestors have set a de facto precedent of seeking consent from families before donation takes place. Reasons commonly given for ignoring a valid donor document and seeking consent from the family include: respect for the family in their time of grief, the need for a donor medical and social history, fear of bad publicity, unease about litigation, and concern about whether the decision to sign a donor card is based on informed consent (Wright, 1998). As the organ and tissue donation process has evolved, the public has come to expect that a family’s consent will be sought as an essential step in the donation process. The result is that in current practice, signed donor documentation often does not ensure that an individual’s wishes will be carried out as an advance directive. "
Ridiculous. And selfish. But that's your right.
I like the way you think.
I wouldn't donate my organ, either. My piano - maybe.
On the other hand, I don't like to brag, but my wife says I do have one organ that should be studied by science, because it is simply astounding. It's a Hammond 122 key with built in synthesizer. Yep, many a time my wife has commented, "Baby, your organ is amazing!"
That's a Hammond for you.
What are the qualifications for living donors?In order to qualify as a living donor, an individual must be physically fit, in good general health, and free from high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, kidney disease and heart disease.
Should I stop smoking before my surgery?
You must stop smoking to be a donor, even if you are a light smoker.
It's actually a good thing to put NO if you have any of the above. They won't be wasting their time.
I heard somewhere that if you're over 45-50 your organs are pretty much "shop worn" and not healthy enough for harvesting.
I'd love to know if this can be corroborated.
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