Would you donate your organs?

jsmatos said:
I don't think that people who choose not to donate their organs deserve to be ridiculed about it. In my experience, I've found that many people have great difficulty contemplating their mortality much less the harvesting of their organs. It's a very difficult topic for some. Some people become quite attached to their body parts. :D LOL As I see it, if it's acceptable for people to worry about the disposition of silly things like basic household furnishings after they pass, then it's perfectly reasonable for them to have strong feelings about what happens to their heart, lungs, or liver as well.
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OK, but can you explain to me why someone would not want their organs donated anyway? I still find this baffling.
I understand the people who have a misconception that being a donor makes it more likely that doctors will let you die (that isn't how it works in reality, but that seems like a logical fear).
I can see why someone might not want to think about mortality, and therefore puts off filling out forms to be a donor.
I understand the feeling that one's organs *might* go to someone reprehensible, so they would want to have more say in who they go to than is allowed in the present system.
But it sounds like there is more at work here than any of that. I have the feeling it's just a different objection, and my poor imagination doesn't stretch far enough to get it on its own.
See if you can stretch me a little further. :)
 
johnniet said:
But it sounds like there is more at work here than any of that. I have the feeling it's just a different objection, and my poor imagination doesn't stretch far enough to get it on its own.
See if you can stretch me a little further.
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This thread is about three boys who tried to dig up a the corpse of a young girl in order to have sex with it:

Link removed. DO NOT LINK TO W&C IN COMMUNITY!

Do you find that distasteful? Why? It's only dead meat, fit merely to be stripped for parts like a derelict car, then discarded.

Stretching at all? ;)

maximus otter
 
I am not an organ donor for a few reasons....

1) I would not want my organs to extend the life of someone who does not deserve life.
Your organs could go to a serial killer, a pedophile, a rapist, the next Hitler, whatever....no sense in taking the chance.

2) I find the very notion that I cannot sell what is mine, but others can make a profit on my "donation" to be counter to my own beliefs.

3) There are too many people on this planet anyway.

The only folks I would donate to are certain family members.
 
After I am gone, they can have anything they want of my discarded carcass that might benefit someone else. It is a way of accomplishing one final act of Christian duty.

Also, some of my Busse Hog brethren are going to need a new liver someday.:D
 
My brother was in his early 20s when he was killed (he and his wife were biking and a group of dumb-ass teenagers packed into a pick up ran a light and hit him). He was an organ donor. Eventhough his body was pretty wrecked (he lived for a couple hours after the accident) they were able to use his corneas/eyes. Today there are 2 people who can now see because my brother was generous and thoughtful enough before his death to tell his wife and note on his license that he intended on being an organ donor.

Even after death he made his family proud.

My sister had a friend that died in a motorcycle accident (head trauma). She was 19 but had indicated to family that she wanted to be a donor. She gave every available part of herself - including her skin. Her family found their peace in knowing she had given life to so many others. They even had the opportunity to meet some of the recipients.

Donate - you don't need it.
 
maximus otter said:
This thread is about three boys who tried to dig up a the corpse of a young girl in order to have sex with it:

Link removed. DO NOT LINK TO W&C IN COMMUNITY!

Do you find that distasteful? Why? It's only dead meat, fit merely to be stripped for parts like a derelict car, then discarded.

Stretching at all? ;)

maximus otter
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I find it distasteful for many reasons, but none of them seem to relate to organ donation. The idea of sex with the dead sickens me, and digging up corpses for twisted purposes seems disrespectful and unkind to the survivors.

Again, I don't have any of the same feelings about organ donation, especially not with my own organs -- I want them working for as long as possible, even if I'm not.
 
I am an organ donor. I have been since I was able to drive. But I have living will that states specifically when or when not to harvest my organs. In my line of I work I can be killed or gravely wounded. My family will need to know my wishes should I die. Only certain body parts are to be harvested. My eyes, heart, and kidneys are the only organs I want donated and if needed, bone marrow. I figure my liver will be shot since liver disease runs in my family and I like to drink.
 
allenC said:
I am not an organ donor for a few reasons....

1) I would not want my organs to extend the life of someone who does not deserve life.
Your organs could go to a serial killer, a pedophile, a rapist, the next Hitler, whatever....no sense in taking the chance.
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The harvested organs could also go to a little child who needs a chance at life.
 
allenC said:
Yeah, but that child could then grow up and become the next Stalin.
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By the same reasoning, you should actually try to hit pedestrians with your car, because they might be serial killers or future dictators.
For that matter, maybe some of those serial killers are commendable, because they might be ridding the world of even worse killers.
 
Three points that it would be informative if they were addressed:

1) Do you leave the stranger to die in the buring car or not? (remember you don't know if they are Mother Theresa or Jack "the Ripper".)

2) Do you want someone to pull you or your family out of the burning car or not? (remember they don't know if you or yours are Mother Theresa or Jack "the Ripper".)

3) Will you accept a transplanted organ if you or your spouse/child needs one?
 
I've read some rather frightening stories where organ donors were "let go" in order to harvest their organs.

I'm not sure how much truth there is to such stories, but I would have to do some good googling and such before becoming an organ donor.
 
i've worked in the emergency services field for a long time and we don't let someone croak because they're an organ donor, it looks bad. as for me i'm an organ donor and have really never understood why you wouldn't want to be, hell you're dead, you don't need them, and it can mean someone else living a productive life. just my .02, ahgar
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by glockman99
The harvested organs could also go to a little child who needs a chance at life.
allenC said:
Yeah, but that child could then grow up and become the next Stalin.
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...Or become the person who finds a universal cure for cancer.
 
kozak6 said:
I've read some rather frightening stories where organ donors were "let go" in order to harvest their organs.

I'm not sure how much truth there is to such stories, but I would have to do some good googling and such before becoming an organ donor.
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Even if you sign your drivers license to be an Organ Donor your Family still has the final say. In other words even if it is your hearts desire to be an organ donor your next of kin can still say no.

"Myth: Doctors will not try to save my life if they know I want to be a donor."

"Fact: The medical staff trying to save lives is completely separate from the transplant team. Donation takes place and transplant surgeons are called in only after all efforts to save a life have been exhausted and death is imminent or has been declared."

http://www.organdonor.gov/myths_and_facts.htm

I am still looking for all the forum members who are going to turn down a lifesaving organ transplant.
 
johnniet said:
By the same reasoning, you should actually try to hit pedestrians with your car, because they might be serial killers or future dictators.
For that matter, maybe some of those serial killers are commendable, because they might be ridding the world of even worse killers.
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Surely you're not trying to equate refusing to donate organs with outright murder?:thumbdn:

It's not my place to rid the world of killers and rapist and such, but I damn well should not actively try and keep them alive.
 
1) Do you leave the stranger to die in the buring car or not? (remember you don't know if they are Mother Theresa or Jack "the Ripper".)
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I don't know.
Generally, I try to help others, but I no "hero" either.

2) Do you want someone to pull you or your family out of the burning car or not? (remember they don't know if you or yours are Mother Theresa or Jack "the Ripper".)
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I don't know.
I suppose it would depend on how badly I was already burned--to quote a Stephen King movie "Sometimes, dead is better".
And when your time is up, it's up.

3) Will you accept a transplanted organ if you or your spouse/child needs one?
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I don't know.
Nobody lives forever and I don't especially fear dying (I just don't want it to be too horrific or painful).
I do know this:
I would not want any organ from someone like Hitler.
I would not want any essence of such a person inside my body.
 
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