Mandatory Organ Donation

[Pokedragonfire]

I would love to see your opinions on this :3

Here's a little explanation:
You know when they ask if you want to be an organ donor when you get your driver's permit? Well mandatory organ donation would mean that your organs would be taken when you die (if they can) whether you want them taken or not. This could potentially save thousands of lives of those waiting for an organ. It also could save your life one day, if you ever need an organ. There are just too few donations. Here are some statistics:

Over 92,000 people are waiting on the U.S. organ transplant list for the gift of life. Each day, about 74 people receive transplants.

Due to the shortage of donated organs in 2005 nearly 6,500 people died waiting for an organ transplant. That translates to 19 people dying each day.

Considering that no one would try to kill you to take your organs, take your organs before actually confirming your death, the doctors would still try their best to save your life, your body will not be disconfigured or scarred from removal of your organs, I'd say in theory, it's a decent idea. However, this doesn't give people much choice.

The current system in America always confers with the family before removal of organs, and even if a dead person wanted to donate their organs, if their family says no, they will keep their organs. I think that's ridiculous because it should be the dead person's choice, not their family's.

 

[~*!*~Tatsujin Gosuto~*!*~]

Yes it should be mandatory because it saves alot of lives. Thats all I can think of now


:t354:TG

 

[Timbjerr]

I think I'm registered as an organ donor.
I'm still using mine, but once I die, then whoever wants them can have them.

 

[Chikara]

I think it's a good idea to register, and be called when needed, but I still believe you should be able to choose. Mandatory is an ugly work in my opinion.

 

[Melody]

Indeed...
I think that what happens to your organs after you die should be a decision made by that person and maybe his/her family if he/she is too incapacitated to do so
However if it says Organ donor on your drivers licence then the family should NOT be able to override that wish.]
No one should be forced to give an organ. It's a person's right to keep all of their organs in their body even after death...

 

[Cross]

I'd donate my heart to my girlfriend after I died. <3

jk

Anyway, I beleive it's family who chooses what's done with your body. I'd like to just die and be buried, is all.

 

[Pokedragonfire]

No one should be forced to give an organ. It's a person's right to keep all of their organs in their body even after death...

Just a question, but what would the purpose of keeping your organs after death be? It's not like you need them... :\

 

[Warheart]

Uh, I'm still not sure about this, but i think I'll end up being an organ doner, mostly because if you think about it, Your entire body will just end up rotting underground anyways =/

God, I hate thinking Morbid thoughts like that xD

Anyways, It will do me no use after death anyways, so why not just give my vital organs up to possibly help someone else out?

Only thing is, I keep my eyes; I don't care how selfish it sounds, but I don't wanna be buried without my eyes, especially if I was going to have an open casket funeral anyways.

 

[Pokedragonfire]

Only thing is, I keep my eyes; I don't care how selfish it sounds, but I don't wanna be buried without my eyes, especially if I was going to have an open casket funeral anyways.

I think if they took your eyes, then your eyelids would be closed for your funeral. And they may be able to put in some glass eyes if you really wanted them open.

 

[Melody]

Just a question, but what would the purpose of keeping your organs after death be? It's not like you need them... :\

But that doesnt make it right to take from my body carve up my remains so that people at my funeral have to go without seeing me. It would be a closed casket.
Do you have any Idea how that would make some of the people who DO care about me feel? If I want to stay intact after death then so be it. I'm a generous person but, No one should be forced to give anything. Now if a person chooses to donate an organ then that's fine.
I'm not gonna give while I live because what if i give a kidney and 5 years down the road my other one fails and I end up dying because I couldnt get an one when I need it.
and to take one from my dead body is wrong if my final wish is to be left whole upon my death.
If someone says go ahead, take my organs when I die then that's fine. But, if they dont then Dont do it. Because, I feel that by not saying that their organs should be harvested after death they should be left alone.

 

[RYOUKI]

Yes, I do believe that Mandatory Organ Donation is a good idea,
It would save million of lives just to donate your organs, and it would be helpful
to those who really needs it, I mean common

Just a question, but what would the purpose of keeping your organs after death be? It's not like you need them... :\

It's just a simple charity..it's not like you could come back to life if youre dead

 

[Loyal Arcanine]

Considering that no one would try to kill you to take your organs, take your organs before actually confirming your death, the doctors would still try their best to save your life.

I firmly disagree with this. Dealing in organs already happens, and it will only get worse with mandatory organ donation. Doctors with $-signs in their eyes won't do their best to save your lives, pre-meditated murders will take place purely because of organs. And not only criminals ... a father who just loses it because his daughter needs a heart may do something very extreme.

The current system in America always confers with the family before removal of organs, and even if a dead person wanted to donate their organs, if their family says no, they will keep their organs. I think that's ridiculous because it should be the dead person's choice, not their family's.

I agree with you on that. If the person indicated that he/she wanted his/her organs to be donated, then that should be done without question.

I don't know what the system is like in the US, but here in Holland everybody is not a donor unless you indicate it officially when you're 18. If you don't do that, you're automatically not a donor. I think that could be reversed. Make it that way, that everybody is initially a donor at 18, and let those who don't want to be a donor take the initiative to indicate that. Because with the current system, you might miss potential donors who would be ok with donating organs, but are not because they're just too busy/forget to take the time to do all the fill-in-forms stuff.

 

[Weatherman Kiyoshi]

I think it should.
I meen, when I die, I don't need my liver or
kidney or something else. Why not give it to someone who does?

Like...
If a person dies in a tragic car crash, and all thier organs are still good to use, and a another person has to get a liver, But has a rare blood type, and they both are the same blood type, why not give the person's liver to the other person who needs one badly? (like they need thier organs when they're dead anyways)

But, there is the religion factor. To some people, putting other people's organs into someone else is a sin. Some people die because they refuse to somebody else's organ to replace thier own. All we have to do is work around the religious factor, and everyone who needs an organ will recieve what they need.

But hey, this is just one person's opinion.

 

[Pokedragonfire]

But that doesnt make it right to take from my body carve up my remains so that people at my funeral have to go without seeing me. It would be a closed casket.
Do you have any Idea how that would make some of the people who DO care about me feel? If I want to stay intact after death then so be it. I'm a generous person but, No one should be forced to give anything. Now if a person chooses to donate an organ then that's fine.
I'm not gonna give while I live because what if i give a kidney and 5 years down the road my other one fails and I end up dying because I couldnt get an one when I need it.
and to take one from my dead body is wrong if my final wish is to be left whole upon my death.
If someone says go ahead, take my organs when I die then that's fine. But, if they dont then Dont do it. Because, I feel that by not saying that their organs should be harvested after death they should be left alone.

First of all, if you donate your organs when you die, you can still have an open casket. They will not "carve up" your body or disconfigure it. Not at all! You will look the same! You're family will not be able to tell the difference. They will take your organs out by surgery, close you up, and cover your stitches with clothes. That is one of the big myths of organ donation! And when I say mandatory organ donation, that doesn't include while you're alive. :) You still need your organs while you're alive!

I'm just asking why do you want to keep them? You're dead! What good will they do for you? ;)

I firmly disagree with this. Dealing in organs already happens, and it will only get worse with mandatory organ donation. Doctors with $-signs in their eyes won't do their best to save your lives, pre-meditated murders will take place purely because of organs. And not only criminals ... a father who just loses it because his daughter needs a heart may do something very extreme.

I think dealing would lessen, the organs given by dead organ donors would not go to any specific person and then to a receiver, the would go through the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) who would find a match. Dealing would decrease dramatically! First of all, not everyone who dies is eligible to give their organs. Also, I believe murder automatically disqualifies organ donation, because the body is probably needed to solve the case. So no one would get murdered over organs because it wouldn't work. Your example of a father losing it because his daughter needs a heart is a problem mandatory organ donation would SOLVE, not worsen! More organs = less waiting = less deaths. So his daughter would have to wait LESS time and have a better chance to live with mandatory organ donation.

And as for doctors who want money, that could technically happen in the current system anyway. But...

Myth. If I agree to donate my organs, my doctor or the emergency room staff won't work as hard to save my life. They'll remove my organs as soon as possible to save somebody else.
Reality. When you go to the hospital for treatment, doctors focus on saving your life — not somebody else's. You'll be seen by a doctor whose specialty most closely matches your particular emergency. The doctor in charge of your care has nothing to do with transplantation.

So the doctor saving the life doesn't get money for transplantation anyway.

But, there is the religion factor. To some people, putting other people's organs into someone else is a sin. Some people die because they refuse to somebody else's organ to replace thier own. All we have to do is work around the religious factor, and everyone who needs an organ will recieve what they need.

But hey, this is just one person's opinion.

That's probably the biggest roadblock to actually causing this to happen. And I doubt those religious people would find it a sin if they ever needed an organ themselves ;)

Also a point I would like to bring up is autopsies. Consent isn't needed for autopsies for bodies that were just found. Why is okay for autopsies, but not okay for organ donation?

 

[Timbjerr]

But, there is the religion factor. To some people, putting other people's organs into someone else is a sin. Some people die because they refuse to somebody else's organ to replace thier own. All we have to do is work around the religious factor, and everyone who needs an organ will recieve what they need.

I'm fairly certain the bible mentions nothing about organ transplants. XD
Most religions would actually advocate any charitable act done to help another survive, be it sparing $2 to feed a homeless guy a burrito or giving your organs after death.

 

[Kayleigh]

Like tmbjr said, all mainstream organized religions approve of organ and tissue donation and consider it an act of charity. (As far as I know; so I'm not sure where some people get the idea that it's a bad thing.) And I've never read anything in the Bible about it being wrong... that just sounds silly. ^^; I personally support it, because I don't think that we have a need for our own organs when we're dead. Plus, the idea that I could possibly help someone in need will always keep me from thinking twice about it.

That's probably the biggest roadblock to actually causing this to happen. And I doubt those religious people would find it a sin if they ever needed an organ themselves ;)

Actually, I did see something about this on a medical show once. I wasn't really paying much attention to it so I don't know all of the details, but basically a man needed some sort of a donation to survive. Because of his beliefs, though, he wouldn't accept one. That's just an example that shows how seriously they take those things, even if it means giving up their own lives. I don't understand it, though, since the only thing that matters to God is how much of a Christian we are... not whether our physical bodies are perfect or not. XD;

 

[Gary the Magic Fairy]

I don't think it's a good idea. Not a bad idea, but not necessarily a good one. It seems like something that could freak alot of people out. Certain people who really don't want their organs taken don't have a choice, and they could be worrying for the rest of their lives about it. What's so wrong with what happens now? People who don't care about what happens to their organs can donate them, but forcing it on someone is seriously messed up. It's their body, it should be their decision.

And saying that they don't need them isn't a good enough reason. There are alot of things that people don't need. They want them. They own them. Taking them is pretty much the same as grave robbing. Sure, they don't really need them, but that's not a reason to steal them.

Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable taking an organ from someone without their consent. I'd feel even worse knowing that they didn't want their organs donated.

I think simply attempting to persuade more people to be organ donors would be a much better idea than just saying "Everyone: when you die, we're cutting all your organs out and giving them to the first person who can find a use for them. Have a good day."

 

[Melody]

I don't think it's a good idea. Not a bad idea, but not necessarily a good one. It seems like something that could freak alot of people out. Certain people who really don't want their organs taken don't have a choice, and they could be worrying for the rest of their lives about it. What's so wrong with what happens now? People who don't care about what happens to their organs can donate them, but forcing it on someone is seriously messed up. It's their body, it should be their decision.

And saying that they don't need them isn't a good enough reason. There are alot of things that people don't need. They want them. They own them. Taking them is pretty much the same as grave robbing. Sure, they don't really need them, but that's not a reason to steal them.

Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable taking an organ from someone without their consent. I'd feel even worse knowing that they didn't want their organs donated.

I think simply attempting to persuade more people to be organ donors would be a much better idea than just saying "Everyone: when you die, we're cutting all your organs out and giving them to the first person who can find a use for them. Have a good day."

I agree. It's not right to take what's not yours. Especially if donating their organs when they die is not one of their final wishes.

 

[Ryoutarou]

I have no problem with organ donation, I don't think it's one of those things that should be mandatory, but personally I see nothing wrong with it. You're dead, you're not using the organs and there are a lot of people that could benefit from it, I can see why some think it should be mandatory, but people should have the right to decide what's done with their bodies, as long as it's nothing detrimental to their health.

Like tmbjr said, all mainstream organized religions approve of organ and tissue donation and consider it an act of charity. (As far as I know; so I'm not sure where some people get the idea that it's a bad thing.) And I've never read anything in the Bible about it being wrong... that just sounds silly. ^^; I personally support it, because I don't think that we have a need for our own organs when we're dead. Plus, the idea that I could possibly help someone in need will always keep me from thinking twice about it.

Actually, I think there's something in the Jewish faith that states one is not supposed to desecrate their own body because it once housed a soul and should be considered sacred, but I've read that it's a little tricky to be exact with because in some cases it's allowed as long as it's to save a life in imminent threat of death. I've also heard that it's only acceptable when a person is already dead and it directly saves a life and isn't donated to science. Not being Jewish, I could be wrong, but that's what I've always heard, either way it's slightly confusing. XD;

 

[Drifblim]

Mandatory organ donation in theory is a good idea, but once something is required — or rewarded economically — people will find a way to keep themselves in line with it through fraudulent means. Suppose you required that people donate blood — rather than make people realise the moral value of doing such a thing — you actually engender resent because of it. If you give them a stipend, they'll either steal blood or kill an animal for their blood.

The same could apply for donating organs. The objective of a donation is to not only save a life but make the donor realise what benefit they've made to society. You require it, that's tantamount to fascism. You give money for it, expect more and more entries on Fark.com about people being killed to secure their organs in later claims.

Also, some people may have atrophied so much that their organs might not be of such value, and in many cases the donor's organ may be rejected by the person to which it is donated. In 1956, Louis Washkansky received a donated heart, the first to ever do so, but his body rejected it. He was put on an anti-rejection medication — which weakened his immune system. He was dead of pneumonia 19 days after the transplant.