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i never really understood why people made such a big deal out of organ donation. even when i was a kid it just made all kinds of sense that some people might not want to donate their organs after death. truth be told, i still don't see why people make such a fuss when another person chooses not to be an organ donor. it's none of their damn business what you want to have done to your body after your dead. if they really want to do some good they should let people know how to become an organ donor.

wow, this argument feels really familiar.

I agree with you 100%. I don't think next of kin should be able to change that. I plan on going so far as to putting in my will that I want any and all possible use of my organs to be made of them before I'm cremated, (Yeah, I don't feel like taking up space on the planet with my rotting corpse in the ground.) and that NO ONE can override my wishes. I want the end of my life to help the life of another if at all possible.

I can't say I'm entirely comfortable with having people opt out of organ donation instead of opting in. I feel that it's very... presumptuous to dictate what you can do with someone's body after they die, even if they didn't specify and left it to their family.

I am, however, very much for the promotion and spread of knowledge of how to register as a donor. Planning on doing so, but not soon. I think I'll get my driver's license first.

I think the government could get a lot more people on the list if there was more awareness about organ donation. They could have donor drives where people could sign up to be organ donors, like they have blood drives.

I do think one of the problems is people not wanting to donate their organs, but I think another issue is just lack of awareness. If more people knew how to opt-in and knew how important it was to do so, they may be more likely to opt-in.

I suspect a lot of it is the ick factor.

Over here, you get sent a form at your 18th birthday - asking you to become a donor. If you fail to return the form, you won't be. So an opt-in system. Even though I'm very much in favour of organ donation and always have been, initially I made an exception on that form; they could take all my organs, except my retina or eyes. I just couldn't get over the incredible yuck of it. As a med student, I have had anatomy classes and I have cut actual corpses, and I know rationally they're dead and won't be needing them.

Still, it took me about to years to come to terms with the idea and revoke that exception. So there.

But other than that; make it opt-out. Most definitely. Just be sure that notification and education on opting out is sufficient.



But.. an opt-out system does not equal harassment or vilification?

Anyway, yes, ideally artificial organs could be made - but realistically, it will take a long time before those have been developed, trial-run, functioning properly and ok-ed for general use. And that's just the mechanics of it, I won't even go into the political-ideological mess that anything stem-cell related invariably causes.

So until that day, organ donation is the only possibility. Why not work on improving the existing system?

That is not the "vilification" I had in mind.

The vilification I was referring to is that being a donator is considered the standard, normal, intelligent, rational, selfless decision by default, which I have no problem with, and not donating is seen as the evil, selfish, emotional, stupid, irrational, stubborn, uneducated, "religious", lazy, etc, decision which I do have a bit of a problem with.

It's like in a donator's mind.. there is absolutely no reason at all *not* to donate, and even though donating is such a noble and admirable thing, not even questioning even that is scary. Because what we have at stake is pro-donator's could choose for everyone else what to do with their bodies, and for those who risk running against that are ostracized.

I'm really running the risk of sounding like an a*****e because of my rejection to donate organs. I've run across similar scenarios about donating blood. Everytime there's been a blood drive at my school, I have been severely turned off from donating blood that I might have otherwise considered. Why? Because the people are extremely, I mean fanatical about donating blood and they push you to do it. And if you don't jump immediately, they force you to feel guilt as if you are a terrible person for not donating blood. I totally did not click with the attitude that my blood was worth more than my humanity. I also found out that the school branches compete with each other to draw up the most names of people who have given blood, so there is competition involved with giving... which to me, doesn't sound right. It's nice to offer treats or snacks for blood donators. It's helpful for them, too. But giving school branches prizes for the most names is something else.

People give out of the goodness of their hearts.. not compulsion, fear, shame, and guilt. Or else that junk wasn't really can't be much of a gift or a donation afterall.

Also, The hospitals rip large profits off of "donated" body parts of others. If a human being is giving something irreplaceable to another human being for no compensation at all, then the hospital staff should provide the service as a donation in honor of the human donation. Nobody thinks about the $$$ hospitals make off of the body parts of others..

The drivers license system in the U.S. seems like a good way to capture people with the question of donating because most everybody gets a permit, license, or an id card, and they ask that donating question each time. There is no loaded assumption that you *must* choose to be a donator. It's asked as if both choices are legitimate.

Ah. Ok. Excuse the confusion on my part.


I'm not sure if the problem is where you live - but honestly, I've never encountered that attitude. I've always seen non-donors being spoken about in terms of either acceptance (they must have a valid reason) or in terms of the need for education (they must not be fully informed of the regulations surrounding donation).

The whole looking-down-upon thing.. not so much.

The only thing that remotely comes close when thinking about it, was the policy suggestion a while back that only those who are registered donors can be eligible for receiving donation. Under the premise of give and take - and to stimulate the percentage of registration, obviously.
(The suggestion was shot down, by the way)


*Points at previous post*
I get the gut feeling about donation. I have just decided that's silliness, and therefore have no exceptions on my donation registration. I get the feeling, and I won't look down on those who can't (fully) get over it. So yes, while maybe I feel it's not a fully valid reason, I do get it. And I won't think less of you for it. It's not a subject completely devoid of emotion.

That said - how would the pro-donating camp choose for everyone else? I don't see how that would be the case even in an opt-out system.


Ugh. I'd be put off by that too, honestly. Well, in that case my earlier remark of it being a matter of where you live might hold some truth after all. I'm glad to say I've not been pushed or pressured or guilted in any of my donation-related decisions.


I'm afraid I know too little about that to comment.
I doubt that there's an actual trade where I live - it tends to not sit well with cultural conventions. But yes, I heard similar stories about the US (harvesting oocytes for monetary compensation, anyone? eek ), so it wouldn't really surprise me.
I'm not sure if and how that would influence my decision. If hospitals make a profit on your organs - well, in the end the organ will still go some way towards helping a patient. Hospitals need funding too. While it may be a questionable practice, I doubt it would completely put me off the procedure. The pushiness of rallies you just described would be much more effective at that.



Well, that would be an improvement on the system that's in place here now. But still, an improvement to both would be an opt-out system, really. Those with staunchly negative opinions on the matter will opt-out; no problem, it's their full right to do so. Those who are positive about donation are spared the trouble of opting in, and those who do not care either way are now donors in stead of non-donors.

It would be an improvement - until the day that artificial organ creation takes flight.