Who in the US is an organ doner here?

[Sailor Steve]

I am.

[bookworm_020]

I'm a donor here in Australia. I also give blood on a regular basis (50+ donations) and I've put my name down on the list for bone marrow donors as well.

I made my wishes know to the ones I love that I would want my organs donated if it was viable. May people don't, resulting in people missing out on a chance at a normal life.

I'm not going to need them, so I have no problem in them being used by someone else.

The way donations are done here in Australia is different to America. I believe there is no cost to the family for donating organs.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

I am not, as you may guess, which is why I started the thread. Why? Because I think the program is messed up in my opinion. 2 Major problems:

1. They charge you as the dead person the cost for the proceedure to remove your organs. This is not a big deal or anything if you just died, but it becomes a big deal for your family who must now pay your bill because you were being kind enough to donate in the first place!!!

2. Because of what I already suspected - they do not take your organs when you are pronouced dead - ie brain dead. They go into you simply if your heart stops which makes sure you are dead - and I am sure less life saving measure are implemented on organ doners!!! According to a hospital, you are not dead until your brain dies since at that point, there is basically no chance of revival. However, if you are an organ doner, they do not bother to wait till you are clinically dead before they cut into you and take your organs. If you were not dead before, I guess you can for sure say that you are dead after they take your heart!!

-S

Read this if you don't believe me - http://www.playfuls.com/news_005593_...Harvested.html

A valid remark, Subman! A long time ago I red a short book about the history (and possible future perspectives) of surgery and intense medcine. It showed how the criterion of death has been changed repeatedly - not by new knowledge about physiology only, but even more so "in advance" - to allow ongoing "developement" of new surgical practices. It is a highly critical issue concernoing organ transplantation, too, as you have pointed. the death criterion here seems to have been chnaged to match not the interests of the sick or even dying person, but the interests of the surgeons. I can't recall all what was aid in that book, it is a longer time ago, but it is not the first time that vital criterios of health and death have been chnaged - for the benefit of medical practices, and accepting to soften up criterions that are in the interest of the patient.

I always carry small card in my wallet, where I give basic regulations concenring medical treatmenbt in case I have a serious accident and cannot articulate my will anymore. for me personally, I made the decision to rule out completely to recieve organs from a foreign donor, and I also set up criterions that - when being met - should prevent doctors to carry on with any kind of medical treatment altogether. I also said that if a doctor has a moral/cultural or religious problem with that, they should get another doctor for whom it is no problem.

Donating organs myself only is an option for me if I do it not anonymously, but for somebody that I do know personally. I am not about donating them to a general organ bank and see them being put on a list. but if for example the small kids of a close girl-friend of mine would be in need for an organ that I can provide, i would give it some very serious and probably positve thought.

I have been accused of being self-contradicting here, but I am honest enough to admit that I have stopped to care for all world and all mankind, and focus on being of help to that small part of it that I personally know, but here I try to help as good as I can. The simple truth is that I feel more sympathy for somebody that I know (and preferrably like) than for some anonymous stranger of whom I even do not he exists.

Maybe that is not kind, and not according to politically correct altruism. Okay, I am not kind then, big deal. I can live with that.

[AG124]

Originally Posted by lesrae

Personally I have a donor card that allows them to take anything other than my eyes or my skin - for some reason that makes me feel uneasy.

I'm not a donor (for many of the same reasons already discussed here) but if I were, I would actually feel the same way about the eyes.:p I suppose it doesn't really matter what happens to my eyes after I die, but I really don't like the idea of them being popped out of my head. Never heard about donating one's skin though - don't remember seeing that one on the donor form they tried to give me.:hmm: That's one little box on the form that I definitely wouldn't fill in anyway... Especially if I was to have an open casket.

[Zinmar]

I am an organ donor. If my eyes can enable someone to see or heart or whatever, they can take them. I'm 41 have a few more years to go but if I do die let them be used by someone else. The only part I wasn't aware of is the charging to the family. I will ask my wife about it, she is an RN so can find out more about it here in Pennsylvania.

[Schlageter-JG26]

Who wants to live forever?

But yes, EMTs DO work less fervently to save donors. It's common knowledge and I work in healthcare management and have heard them make that claim several times.

But guess what? That's almost always when you're at a point you don't want to come back from to begin with. They just skip the useless stuff they would normally be required to keep trying by law.

Still a donor here.