I have also opted out of organ donation on my DL.......but for entirely different reasons than yours.
I am a smoker, smokers are considered lower than snake bellies when it comes to a place in line for an organ donation.....so if I am going to be discriinated against in the possibility of receiving a life saving transplant, I will be just as discriminatory when it comes to offering the same.
As mentined by others, I also have a living will, and my family is aware of my wishes when it comes to organ donation.in my case it is non-smokers need not apply.
"I am a smoker, smokers are considered lower than snake bellies when it comes to a place in line for an organ donation.....so if I am going to be discriinated against in the possibility of receiving a life saving transplant, I will be just as discriminatory when it comes to offering the same. "
Smoking increases the chance that your body will reject an organ. People who don't smoke are more likely to survive than people who do, that's simply a medical fact. All decisions about who gets organs are based on number one, who needs them the most, in other words, who's going to die the soonest without one, and number two, who is likely to benefit from receiving one. People with certain types of cancers, for example, are generally not eligible for transplants because the cancer is likely to recur. It's a question of distributing a resource that is in short supply to those for whom it is most likely to succeed. Discrimination, value judgements about who "deserves" an organ more, don't enter into it.
If more people were organ donors, fewer of these terrible choices would have to be made.
I like the way you thought this through! :)
But I, too, didn't opt to be a organ donor because of my past history of cancer. Just never know, you know it?
Plus, I am near sighted, so who would want that? LOL
Right you are
* Undergo an evaluation. After deciding where you wish to have your organ transplant, the organ transplant center will conduct a screening process to evaluate your medical condition as well as your lifestyle and ability to comply with medical instructions. Active drug and alcohol abusers, for instance, aren't acceptable candidates. And being a smoker may disqualify you from certain transplants or may compromise the outcome. A history of carefully following medical instructions is a good sign that you'll have the discipline to follow rigorous post-transplant procedures.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organ-transplant/DA00095
I don't think I have an organ that's worth donating.
I'm a mess from top to bottom.