Until a few months ago, I worked at a hospital in Texas. One of the items on the death checklist there was notification of the organ donor registry, whether or not the dead/dying patient was a potential donor. I read the hospital's entire organ donation protocol... I can't say it reassured me at all regarding the whole topic of organ donation, and I am still as against the practice as ever.
If I were so sick that my physicians were suggesting putting me on an organ waiting list, I would decline. I cannot, in good conscience, hope and pray for a healthy someone to die so that I get a few years' extension on my life.
My only experience with this was NY State.
No one approached us about it & no one pressured us.
If someone had, I do think that would have made us uncomfortable.
A year later we were invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with the donation group.
They were interested in hearing the reasons why we made the choice we made, and how did we think they could encourage donation.
My suggestion was that less pressure was better. To offer information when it was requested but not to give a sales pitch.
And when people do not choose donation, they should not have to cope with a guilt trip.
My cousin is a donor recipient, and we also experienced this process as parents of a donor.
I can see why people might think someone is hoping and praying for someone else to die.
I’m not sure if that is a fair characterization.
Maybe some people are....who knows.
I would described it more as....we all know that everyday people will die from a wide variety of causes.
If circumstances line up where some good can be brought about from a tragedy....then you may as well be on the list.
I tend to think that the vast majority of people on a waiting list for an organ transplant are very acutely aware of just how precious life is.
It’s not a matter of hoping and praying for someone else to die, but rather that sadly tragic accidents happen, and will happen whether or not the accident victim is an organ donor or not and whether or not anyone, including themselves is on an organ transplant waiting list. I think it’s more likely that a waiting recipient is hoping and praying that one of those who died, and would have died anyway, is an organ donor and a match for them.
I am friends with a gal whose husband needed and received a heart transplant. That was well over twenty years ago and he’s still doing fine.