To wonder how many of you not on the organ donor register

[Normalisavariantofcrazy]

Would be happy to accept an organ on behalf of yourself or a relative?

If you are, excluding health reasons, why are you not on the organ donor register? Is it just a case of not getting round to it, if so

register here

little drummer I don't have an issue with people not wanting to donate. I do however think it is wrong to accept an organ when not being willing to be on the organ register.

Same situation as differentnameforthis. I would happily donate my organs (and I was on the register when I lived in England) but Canada consider us all to be potentially contaminated with CJD and won't accept our blood at all, and I can't get a straight answer from the organ donation people. They've advised us to put our names down on the understanding that our organs' suitability will be assessed, taking into account our individual history of coming from such a dangerous location , if/when they're looking for potential donors. There are probably enough Brit ex-pats in Canada that wouldn't be likely to refuse, if the actual recipient were to get a say, but I don't know if they do...?

Angelos that was taken from jengnr.

(Disclaimer: this is all a bit hazy, as it's a few years and a lot of study since I did this course)

I did a course on ethics, policy and health. One of the area we focused on was organ donation. Interestingly a few things have come out of research:

• opt out systems don't generally produce many more organs for donation. This is for two reasons: the number of viable organs is absolutely tiny, there are so many reasons why an organ may not be viable. Also, next-of-kin would make the decision one way or another. So opt in or opt out actually makes very little difference.

• medical practitioners actually working in the transplant area will never (according to current research/conferences etc) agree with a next-of-kin override. They just won't do it. Who wants to be the doctor at the centre of a "they took my daughter's organs without my permission" media storm. (There was a lot more to this, I just can't remember, shall look it up if I get a chance).

I think for so many people organ donation is such an abstract thing. A girl called Tor made an amazing 5 minute video about her need for new lungs. At the time she had months to live. She has thankfully since had a transplant and I know is incredibly grateful. Her video is so worth watching tor's video

Also have a look at kirtsie's blog there was a programme on her on BBC3. She has had two double lung transplants, having come close to dying twice. She is only 23, I believe.

Can I just tell you (a) I am on the register now as is dh (b) I didn't go on it before as I hated the pressure and forcing put on me in just such circumstances as this only when I was able to come to a decision myself did I feel happy to join, please bear this is mind zealots

Lovely post Stoofa

I'm on the registry. They can take whatever they want cos I'm not going to need it. It's only going to get cremated or buried (or donated to science, not decided on that yet!)

I regularly give blood and I'm on the bone marrow registry.

I don't know how I feel about accepting organs, marrow or blood but I've never been in that position. At present I don't need them so the idea is a little weird to me, thinking about someone else's kidney/liver/heart/blood in my body!

I think that if you can donate you should. There should be an opt out system based on the individuals wishes only, nothing to do with NOK. I agree with a lot of the people here who think it's selfish to expect to receive but not to give.

For those with pre-existing medical conditions which disclude them, obviously that's not a matter of choice so I don't think comes into the selfish/unselfish conversation.

I can see where people are coming from when they say they don't want their lungs to go to a smoker or their liver to an alcoholic and I feel the same way to a degree. I also think that people deserve a second chance, so who am I to judge! Plus I won't know, I'll be dead!

They can even have my limbs and face!

I am on it and my family knows my wishes.

I don't understand people who won't donate but it's their body, their choice and I don't think name calling is either helpful or fair. Everyone thinks about death differently, to me it is just a body and if I am not using it I hope my organs can be used to help someone else but that is my choice and I think everyone should have a right to theirs without name calling if their opinion doesn't match yours. It's a very personal decision and I assume those who won't donate have their reasons that has nothing to do with simply being 'selfish'.

I understand that people have a choice. Yes or no.

But I don't understand why it takes years to come to this conclusion.

It's simple. You save a life or your worm food. If swaying in the ground or being burnt and ground up is an idea your ok with then organ donation is no worse a process than either of those. Your gone. You've hit the tunnel of light never to look back and left behind what's nothing more than a collection of cells rotting.

What's the hard decision?

Swaying??? Decaying that should say

My sister was on the organ donor list when 'other people' had transplants. She believes that this actually helped her emotionally when she needed an organ.

I can't imagine the pain I would feel if DS died but I'd hate myself if I could have saved someone else from feeling that pain and didn't. I've been on the list since I was a child and so has all my family.

I do worry a bit that the Christian thing might be right and you need a whole body to be resurrected on Judgement day but I guess I'll just have to explain to Jesus why I'm a bit holey when I get there.

I am on the register. I have a son who will eventually need a lung/liver transplant due to having cystic fibrosis. I have always been on the register (it's something my mum actively discussed when we were young).

I have always supported organ donation, however having my son makes me actively support it and I'm probably more vocal about it because when the time comes and my son needs a donor, I want to know that one will be available.

Having gotten to know adults with cystic fibrosis who have sadly passed away while waiting, I know how hard that is.

My family was also unfortunate enough for my husband to have renal failure (kidney failure). Being true to my word and an ardent organ donation supporter, I donated a kidney to him a few years ago. It has made an unbelievable difference to our family. My husband was dialysing three times a week and was extremely unwell. He also had two heart attacks caused by the issues of kidney failure. His first heart attack happened when our second baby was just four weeks old.

Our lives are much better since my husbands donation. Yes, we still have my sons cystic fibrosis to deal with but overall our lives are better - we've been lucky enough recently to travel which we just couldn't do before.

I would support an opt out system because I know how difficult the opt in system had been.

However I would always respect someone's decision not to donate, especially if they wouldn't accept an organ. That is their decision to do with their bodies as they wish.

They never take organs from people who aren't properly dead btw. It is always confirmed that a transplant donor is brain stem dead, often arising out of accidents. They try and obtain the organs as quickly as possible so that donors can be placed to rest as soon as they can. It's all done very humanely and not like some harvesting plant where dead people are mistreated.

For those who require more information there is a brilliant website called live life then give life set up by two wonderful women who have been heavily involved in the transplant system.

Dead people don't have rights littledrummergirl on account of being dead.

MrsWedge I'm not a Christian but I'd be pretty surprised if you turned up at the pearly white gates and Jesus said "Let's see, you've been kind all your life, proactively charitable and exemplified my love through your actions - oh but wait, sorry it seems that once you died someone took various bits and pieces of your corporal body to help another 3 people live longer, restore someone's sight and help to heal a burns victim. Sorry no entry!"

I am on the register.

MrsWedgeAntilles I am a Christian and have not heard about the whole body thing. I believe that when resurrected you are given a new body as your old one would have decayed. It is a spiritual thing

Dead people don't have rights littledrummergirl on account of being dead.

No they don't, but their families have rights and wishes and those wishes should be respected. Many families want to carry out the last wishes of their passed loved ones and they should be given the right to do so.

In all honesty the views shared by some on this thread have made me more against signing up to be a donor. I don't think that anybody should be able to dictate to another person what they should do with their body after their death. Al the guilt tripping and insults against those of us that haven't signed up just makes me want to sign up even less. It's just as cbjk1 said upthread about pressure into signing up.

FlushGordon - appendix / tonsils / uterus, etc... loads of people die with 'bits missing'. Silly argument imo.

Stoofa loved your story.

Lots of people already know this on mn but my ds is waiting for a transplant and watching him deteriorate over time and be unable to live his life to the full is heartbreaking.
He's starting dialysis next month but trying to have a last minute lads holiday before.
A lads holiday where he can't drink and has to wear a t shirt to hide his peritineal tube on the beach.
That's if he can actually get holiday Insurancd which is unlikely.
It's very sad to watch.

"Dead people don't have rights littledrummergirl on account of being dead."

Are you seriously suggested that someone who has been murdered does not have the right to have the killer brought to justice because they are dead?
Or that a person doesnt have the right to be buried within their faith when alive because they are dead?

Why is choosing to/not to donate your organs any different?

Yes I will be dead however I expect my next of kin to carry out my wishes. If I thought they wouldnt then they wouldnt be my next of kin.

It's kind of incomprehensible to me as to why you wouldn't want to sign up but as you say, that's your decision. I do think that means you don't get to have donor organs if you need them. Perhaps that's the rule - that if you're not on the register, you don't get to go on the transplant list.

ledkr - I didn't know that about your son. How heartbreaking :( My sister has cystic fibrosis and there's always that anxiety that she may need a lung (or two) one day. It's very, very scary

It’s all pretty academic though really because in truth the vast majority of us will never be in the position where we would be considered as suitable organ donors anyway, and in the event you are declared brain dead after a tragic accident your wishes will be discussed with your next of kin who will have the ultimate decision.

The key really is more about how many families say no when asked in that situation, not about how many people are on the donor register.

The way people go on about the selfishness of those not on the register you’d be forgiven for thinking those people are in fact responsible for other people’s deaths, when actually even if they were on the register chances are they won’t ever be in a tragic accident and declared brain dead and donate their organs anyway.

Fwiw I am on the register but I don’t believe we have the right to make that decision for our children so my ds isn’t, and currently doesn’t want to be – his choice.

Really sorry to hear that Ledkr - hope it's not too long before he gets a match.

In all honesty the views shared by some on this thread have made me more against signing up to be a donor.

I respect a principled and thoughtful decision not to donate, but if you can read a thread with numerous heartfelt stories about what transplants have meant, or would mean, to MNers and their families the extra years of life, the total transformation in quality of that life and all you can take away from it is that you're now less likely to be a donor because some people were a bit rude, then words fail me. Goodness knows how I'd feel if I were one of the people who'd opened up about their own personal history.