To be scared after registering as organ donor.

[RoxyFox211]

Always wanted to do it but had a wierd hesitation ( just in case we some how feel or are aware of organ removal after death). I'm very interested in religion, although not affiliated myself, would love to read as many religious texts as possible. In starting this post im just interested really in other peoples choices for or against being on the organ donation register, both religiously, philosphically & otherwise.

"And if it freaks you out, tell your DP you don't want your organs donated"

Well thanks for the go ahead, but if you don't mind Ill make my own decisions and do my own research.

"I would suspect that it might feel odd for the surgeons to be operating on a body that has a beating heart without anaesthetic so it may help them."

What bull. You clearly have no more of a clue than I do.

Digestives, thanks for a much more logical possible explanation

The anaesthetic consists of neuro-muscular blockade to prevent reflex muscle movement during surgery. The anaesthetist manages the cardiovascular and respiratory support until the point that the heart is stopped.

The donations i have witnessed have been at the request of the family. When you care for someone who is very badly injured/brain dead you build a relationship with them, if they want me to hold someones hand then that is what I will do if that gives them a tiny bit of comfort at a really shitty time.

All the retrieval teams and the transplant coordinators I have dealt with treat the donor's with the utmost respect and never like a piece of meat. The same way we treat all dead patients.

I'd donate as I cant bear the thought of good organs going to waste. Also rather like the idea of living on in someone else for a bit, is that odd? Possibly but I find the idea weirdly comforting.

"Well thanks for the go ahead, but if you don't mind Ill make my own decisions and do my own research."

At what point have I suggested you do anything else? It's your body, do whatever the hell you want with it! Funnily enough, I don't care!

Why would you need my permission to donate your organs? That would be weird...

You were the one saying you wanted your DP to make the decision just after you die, so I just assumed that if you had done the research and felt that you didn't want it done you might, possibly, tell him that so he didn't go against your wishes. Silly me.

And for what it's worth, I was simply stating what 2 other people, both health professionals iirc have also said on this thread so why single me out?

And, apologies, but how ironic that you want to make your own decisions and yet completely absolve yourself of this one and leave it to a hugely distressed and grieving relative who no doubt will be barely able to think about whether or not to have a cup of tea to decide what happens to your body.

I think you have made a really important point there Trazzletoes. By actively registering to be a donor I think you take a huge worry and pressure off your loved ones at a time of terrible heartbreak and distress. If they are clear that that is what you would prefer, then it is often "easier" for them, as they don't think the decision is all down to them.

Again, I will say that the medical team will listen to family if they are strongly opposed, but I think often the reason family say no is that they just weren't sure what the deceased wanted to have done.

Its OUR decision. What we both want. Also vice versa. Its been said many times on this thread that you cant predict how you will feel. How awful for the relatives if their wishes aren't listened to. (and as was recently reported, they are considering that the donor register overrides the relatives feelings)

I think that would be awful. There was a chance of me signing up before, but not now

I firmly believe that a doctor looks only at the patient in front of him - if you're saveable they do what they can to save you. Transplants don't always work, and not everyone who looks like they might be donor material actually ends up being suitable, so to abandon someone who wasn't quite dead on the vague off chance that someone else might benefit would just be bizarre.

The only sense and comfort that could possibly be derived from the kind of sudden death that would allow for donation (eg car crash) would be the possibility of saving or transforming maybe half a dozen lives.

From a religious perspective, I believe in "ashes to ashes, dust to dust". My body isn't part of me after I'm dead. If part of it can be used for good rather than going up a chimney or feeding the worms, great.

I come from a family very set on donation (blood and organs) so I've always had this opinion.

Tweenageangst are you in the medical profession? Just am very interested in your role in caring for donors and then afterwards the benefactors. Must be a job of polar opposite emotions in any one day really.

I am all for it as my DGD has CF and unless they come up with something before she gets to her late teens/twenties (or sooner depending on how well her lungs are kept ) the only hope for her will be a lung (or maybe heart and lung) transplant.

It can be a scary thought though admitting ones own mortality and that slight feeling of tempting fate .

I am an adult ICU nurse. I have worked in the neuro ICU (which generally has the most donors) and also the general ICU which gets some donors. I have never looked after both donor and then recipient of the same set of organs, the chances of a match in the same hospital are very slim and the organs generally go all over the country either by helicopter or escorted land vehicle.
It is all pretty time critical-heart and lungs have just a 4 hour window of viability.
I have looked after recipients of livers and kidneys- seeing a previously dialysis dependent patient starting to make urine, often for the first time in years is pretty magical and one of the reasons after 20 years i still feel privileged to do my job.

A few years back I was working in A+E on a night shift when I saw the transplant team arrive. Having had a study day about the work they do earlier that week (and it was a very quiet shift) I got permission to head to theatre and observe. The donor patient was a lady in her late 60's, pronounced brain dead earlier that day. The family had spent time saying goodbye to their relative and she was bought into the theatre. I've been in theatre a lot, and work there now. I have never witnessed anything quite like it.

The whole 'process' was so slick and well done. Nobody spoke, not even the surgeon to the scrub nurse. Everybody knew their role so well. The patient was treated beautifully with respect and a member of the team sat with the patient and held her hand and stroked her hair. The kidney they retrieved was to go to the other side of the country where a young girl had received a call at 2am to go and prepare for her transplant.

I am very much pro-donation. I can't see that people refuse to donate yet would so easily accept an organ?

Ive just signed up thanks to this thread, Ive been meaning to for ages and have let family know in the past that I wanted, but kept putting off actually filling in the form.

I am religious, but believe God loves me for my soul not my flabby, seen better days body.

When my parents died, we allowed their organs to be used, in a strange, calming way it helped. I was still very young and it sort of gave me the total proof that they were dead when their were laid to rest, odd as that sounds.

Personally, Ive always thought it would be better if people had to register not to have their organs donated, as having been there its a very difficult subject to deal with at the point of a loved ones death, and I`m sure there must be families who have regretted not doing it later, especially if the person who had died registered to be a donor. For the families, immediate grief might not let them take the organs but further down the line.......

Many years ago my DS3 (then aged about 4) saw the Donor cards on the counter of our pharmacists. He asked about them....I told him what it all meant. He was very, very impressed and got one off the counter and did a funny scribbly signature on it. On the way home he said to me (I will try to write it how he spoke)

'Mam, you know my Daddy and brothers have got big willies? Well just wuck at mine - its pwoper wittle!!! Do they do willie twanspwants?

I said 'No dont think so' but he still insisted on having the card.

Just before his 8th birthday a flat back lorry reversed on our quiet street and knocked him over and crushed him to death.

When we got to the hospital I asked the nurse to check in his jeans pocket for his donor card....she was shocked but went to look. She brought it back with that same funny signature. He couldn't donate his organs because of the nature of the injuries BUT he did donate his corneas. We were told that they would have given sight to two children.

I am way beyond proud of my lad xxxx

Ahh Montybo you sound as though you are wonderful in your job and your post reminded me of a lovely sister on the ward where my brother died (ironically for this thread he just made his 60th birthday so l don't think could have been a donor).
He was morphed up to the eyeballs (lung cancer) and I was told that he would probably now start to breathe more slowly with longer and longer gaps imbetween till he passed away.
I was advised by this lovely sister to keep talking to him even if he didn't seem to be responsive because the hearing is the last sense to go and he may well be able to hear you.
When his breathing seemed to have stopped I called her and she felt his neck for a pulse and waited with me for the next breath which never came. She then said 'Yes, I think he's gone'. She bleeped the doctor as I believe is procedure to confirm (?) and then said she would leave me with him for a while unless of course I wanted her to stay.
As she took her hand away from the side of his neck she very gently stroked his cheek and said 'You poor love 'Mybrosname', Sleep tight'. as she turned to walk away I could see she had a hint of a tear in her eyes but she was very professional and composed.

I will never ever forget that and it was the little touches like that made my brothers death bearable to me and him no doubt whenever I think sad thoughts about his death and horrible illness I always end up thinking about that lovely bit of human compassion shown to him and I instantly feel more hopeful and less sad.

Shabba it takes quite a bit to make me tear up but your post has done it. I am sorry for your loss and can understand your pride x

Oh Shabba (quick hug while no ones looking) what an amazing story, I'm so sorry for your loss.

shabba, no words just xx

Oh shabba that's beautiful. What a wonderful child he was.

Ahh Shabba so sorry for your loss.

I think, even if you are religious, no god would deny you 'paradise' for ensuring that you carried out one last selfless act before death, in fact, if you did this and you were religious then surely that would make you even more deserving because you were willing to risk your soul in order to save another person.

After all, that seems to be the overall expectation of religion, sacrifice...

Crikey this thread should have a 'need tissues' warning attached. Lady - I am in awe of you making that choice at such a young age. Don't feel guilty. You were very generous in the face of overwhelming bereavment. Nobody would grudge you what you needed to get you through.

WHilst the issue of live donation is for me quite difficult in that I don't feel I would make a live donation except to my dcs who can have every bone in my body if they need them, I find the issue of donation after death of more organs to be absolutely simple and clear cut to me. It's the right thing to do. I am an 'active' Christian. My body is a shell. My soul is immortal. If I am selfish I take something away from my soul. My saviour, Christ, died for me and my job as a Christian is to be as Christlike as possible. Wanting to hang on to my pancreas and corneas after death would be the very opposite of that. I know dh feels the same.

Please can I just clarify some things as a specialist in organ donation, organ retrieval and transplantation as there seems to be lots of untrue or very misguided statements being made.

Firstly, any potential organ donor is fully assessed by 2 independent doctors (1 having to be a consultant) who are entirely disassociated with any organ retrieval or transplant teams.

On assessing an organ donor, all documentation, which is legal, must be thoroughly checked by all the retrieval team, that:

a) the donor has achieved full criteria for brain death
b) the donors family has given full consent to organ donation and
c) all relevant tests ie, blood group, size, age, blood results etc are all up to date

In theatre, absolute full respect is given to the donor and it is a very calm, peaceful environment with the most absolute awe of what this amazing person is doing for so many people.

As I have attended many many retrievals, I would really like to state that any anathesia drugs are actually discontinued, as rightly mentioned, the donor is certified as brain dead and there is no need to give such drugs. I'm sorry if this puts anyone off but it is factual. That's not to say, the donor is not continually monitored during the retrieval, but that is to monitor observations such as heart rate, BP, sats, etc

I also have the pleasure of caring for the recipients and I have to say its one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever done. The life changes made to these people is just amazing and its all thanks to the organ donor. They truly do save lives.

Can I also dispel the myth that if you are on the register you won't be cared for as well as if you weren't. Nothing could be further from the truth. The team caring for you won't even know if you are on the register and it would only come up if everything possible had been done to save you. Not everyone is suitable to become an organ donor either so it really is a myth!

Sorry, I've seen lots of posts over the past few weeks on this matter and just wanted to add in my bit as I work in this area and have for a long time.

I had to come off the register when I had breast cancer/chemo.They won't even have my eyes according to GP although I am too old now any way.