to not want to help someone to live after my death?

[dolldaggabuzzbuzz]

I am on the organ donor register. I am willing to donate all my organs to those who may need them in the event of my untimely death.

However, if the new system of presumed consent is brought in, I am opting out. I can't explain why I feel like I do about this. Am I being unreasonable?

I would imagine that presumed consent wouldn't apply to small children though, Dutchmanswife. They would not be in a position to advocate for themselves, or to knowingly opt out, so it would appear likely that consent would still be sought.
:( for your loss - how tragic.

Yes, consent would have to be treated differently for children.

I was specifically answering those posters that were saying that you would feel differently if it was your child waiting for a transplant.

It's about respect, isn't it - but donors bodies are treated respectfully.

What are you feeling uncomfortable about though? People like to concentrate on a life lived not what a body "symbolises". A body is a body, whether we put it is the ground, set fire to it or leave it to the birds. Your cultural attachment to focussing on the body is superstition and probably has religious overtones.

The abhorrence associated with mass graves is to do with how and why people died. (plague pits were a sensible way of getting rid of diseased bodies on a large scale, btw, it made sense).

YABU
Presumed consent is a very good idea.

YABU. Whether voluntary or under presumed consent, they can use whatever they like from me, apart from my eyes, obviously...

Yabu

YABU. It's the height of selfishness - to not allow someone a better life when you're dead anyway! Presumed consent it a very, very good thing.

It is reasonable to be against the principle of presumed consent, and yet still be in favour of donating your own organs.

I am in favour of donating my own organs, but also in favour of protecting the rights of those who do not want to.

I think the OP is struggling to find a way of expressing a valid objection to a dubious principle, and perhaps arriving at a counter-productive way of protesting.

If a member of my family had expressed that they did not wish to be an organ donor, but had failed to opt out, I would be disappointed with their decision, and I would make a different one myself, however I would fight to protect their wishes regarding their own body upon their death. I think there is something wrong with the concept of taking organs from someone who is known to have witheld their consent.

I'd also respect their right to leave their money to the cat's home or whatever. I'd hate the decision and think it was the wrong one, but I would respect it.

Would you feel comfortable knowing organs were being taken from someone who objected? There will certainly be people who don't / can't opt out but have made their wishes clear otherwise. What should happen in that scenario?

How can any of us, if parents, think about not giving every last bit that we can to save someone's life when ours is gone? Surely if your child needed an organ you would hope people had registered.

Yes if deceased not on register then decision is with NOK and what the family feel they would have wanted.

It's a very British, moral/ethical thing to do - being on the register is consenting, but if a family refused to proceed with a registered patient and we went ahead regardless havoc would break out and ruin a system which does function well when allowed to work.

Loving this debate :)

OP, if you wish to give (rather than they take as you described), you could look into bone marrow and live donor donation. Live donor kidneys work better and for longer than those taken from recently dead, preventing a person ending up back on the transplant list and giving them a longer healthy living span, and you are able to give altruistically (versus a known live donation, you can choose to give without knowing who it will be given to). Personally, I'm looking into it to do after I'm done having children (it shouldn't affect pregnancy, or long term health, but I'm nervous about doing it before that).

I'm undecided on presumed consent - it would need to be very specific opt-in/opt-out system to fit in everyone. Such as now, due to some cultural and religious issues on the definition of death [brain death which is now more common medical definition rather than heart death which is the definition of death by several religious and cultural groups], some choose to opt-in to only donate those organs that can be used after heart death rather than blanket donation of everything or consent on condition of it being approved by religious/cultural leader (some organs are only useable for brain death, but not heart death). We would need an opt-out brain death/opt-in heart death donation for those groups. As long as we could do specific opt-out/opt-in as we do now, and families couldn't override for an adult who has the documentation, it could work (getting into the specifics can make things complicated!).

But carrot on the other hand were allowing family members to overuse the deceased wishes even when they're on the register which is equally as bad!

Overide

Can't poo. Agree with you about that.

Sorry. That should have been "cantpooinpeace...etc"

The problem is that, being willing to donate your organs and being happy with the state making decisions about what happens to your body are two different things. I am not happy with presumed consent either but there is no way to make your feelings known about the latter without people attacking you for not caring about the former. It's a cliche but there is a principle involved and, as we're talking about who has ownership of the one thing that you can truly call your own, it's a very important principle.

those of us who are on the organ donor register (and frankly don't therefore give two hoots about presumed consent or not becasue it makes no practical difference to me - so totally confused by OP's position), can we opt out of donating organs to someone who wasn't previously on the organ donor register? Seems fair.

I'm all for presumed consent, it will increase the available number of organs, and save precious time from being wasted.
Why on earth would you care what happens to your organs?, you'll be dead - you don't need them anymore, someone else might.

Well if OP had worded her post in the way you just did then perhaps there would have been less people attacking/expressing their views. That makes complete sense to me Mary it's the 'grey area' of presumed consent.

Great point Kew :)

The answer to your question is no, I think, Kewcumber.
And whilst it would make no practical difference to me either, I do give two hoots about a principle such as presumed consent. It's possible to care about principles even if they don't impact me personally. That's what makes them principles!

So if the "Opt out" happens, will next of kin still be asked?

No they will have no say, just like they have no say in your will.