What do you think about the new organ donation law? (Opt out)

[Nameitychangity]

Not sure if this across the whole NHS but the leaflet received today is from NHS Scotland.
The organ donation law is changing on 26th March, we will now have an 'opt out' system which means that if you do not specifically register yourself as NOT wanting to donate your organs and tissue after death, then the law will allow your body to be used for organ and tissue transplantation.
What do you think? I'm already an organ donor so it doesn't change things for me personally but it does leave me slightly uncomfortable and gives me the feeling that you do not have control over your own body after death, in fact the state 'owns' it unless you specifically make an effort to declare otherwise. Is this right?
Leaflet also states "if you do nothing it will also mean you agree to certain medical tests and procedures that may be carried out before your death as part of the donation process".
What do you think of an 'opt out' system? Is it fair enough that if you don't register that your body can be used after death?
YABU - I'm dead, they can do whatever they want with my body and I'm happy for my organs and tissue to be used
YANBU - the system should remain opt in and 'opt out' systems are not right

@AngeloMysterioso

So many people talking about not wanting to donate reproductive organs, face, hands etc...

I’ve just had a look at the NHS organ donor registration website, and the organs it lists are heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, corneas, pancreas, tissue and small bowel.

No mention of any reproductive organs.

Quite. It's baffling.

@AngeloMysterioso

So many people talking about not wanting to donate reproductive organs, face, hands etc...

I’ve just had a look at the NHS organ donor registration website, and the organs it lists are heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, corneas, pancreas, tissue and small bowel.

No mention of any reproductive organs.

At the moment there's not a mention of it but as face and hand transplants already happen in other countries why wouldn't it happen here? Skin is already listed after all. Any why wouldn't there be womb transplants, it's another organ after all?

As no one could confirm that these things won't be added at a later date without notification I've opted out and will continue to do so unless the organs I am willing to donate are a definitive list and can't be added to.

The law change is sexist as it will affect women the most. No longer can "I didn't give him permission to have sex with me" be a valid argument in a rape trial - the victim would have to actively be fighting the attacker off in order to claim she hadn't consented. And what about drug rape?

Don't be daft, that is the most bonkers thing i've read on this thread (which has been really interesting).
The analogy would be that women have to opt out of being raped and anyone who wanted to be raped could opt in but they would actively have to opt into wanting to be raped. And at that point they have consented to sex/rape so all bets are off. Doesn't work, does it?

If people are worried about mission creep on the organ donor part, why not lobby your MP so that rather than there being a definitive list (that would change as our medical procedures improve) at any point, the ability to opt out of certain organs will always be possible? so instead of carrying a donor card, you carry a Not Donating card - and you can list what you want to hang on to, and update it as new organs are added?

I'm interested to hear why, if anyone cares to share, why hearts and eyes are ok for some but a uterus or ovaries are a step too far? (only share if you want)

You honestly can't think why someone wouldn't want to donate their eggs posthumously? Really?

And I took the post above to be part of a context rather than something caused by or linked to this legislation. There is an increasing lack of autonomy and sex based rights.

It is yet another breach of our rights and freedoms. I have always been opted in donor but am so cross about this change when it happened in England I actively opted out.

@AlternativePerspective

I think presumed consent is very bad and I am against it, however I don't want to take away the chance for someone to get my organs after I die just because I disagree with a government policy. you won’t if you’ve had the conversation with your family and they agree to your donation. You could, however, take away someone’s chance to receive your organs if your family were either unaware or disagreed with your wishes and said no.

My next of kin are well aware of my wishes.

@Xenia

It is yet another breach of our rights and freedoms. I have always been opted in donor but am so cross about this change when it happened in England I actively opted out.

I sympathise - on balance I decided to retain my card (and entry on the register) as I didn't feel it appropriate to potentially deny someone the benefits just because I think it's a very bad policy.

But I still think it's a bad policy and bad precedent.

its

I'm delighted by this. They should have done it years ago.

My next of kin are well aware of my wishes. And that is exactly the point. Opt-out is being entirely misunderstood here in that people seem to believe that if they don’t opt out their organs will automatically be donated when actually this is not the case.

By far the most important message here should be that people talk to their families and discuss their wishes.

And if they don’t want the state to ever have autonomy over what happens to them when they die because once you bring in one legislation it is very easy to water it down and so forth, then you can opt out and leave the decision to your family who you have had the discussion with.

As for the people stating that people who wouldn’t donate shouldn’t be allowed to receive a transplant, my personal view is that they hold those kinds of views because the people they’re thinking about are faceless strangers. Because most people think that needing a transplant could never happen to them, so it’s very easy to make judgements on what should happen to other people when those other people aren’t ever going to actively be a part of your life.

I'm certainly not comfortable with my eggs being donated (although I'm 45 so it's not likely to happen!) as that would be part of me. I wouldn't donate them when I was alive so I'm not doing it when I'm dead.

I wouldn't want to donate face or hands as I feel uncomfortable with a visible part of me being transplanted onto someone else.

I meant to add the eggs are part of me and not life-saving to anyone. Heart, lungs etc are different on that score.

I have been a registered organ donor all my adult life but I'm completely opposed to this. My body does not belong to the state.

You honestly can't think why someone wouldn't want to donate their eggs posthumously? Really?

I asked because if you've read any of my posts at all you'll know that i'M interested in the reasons that other people have. I can think of several reasons why people might not want to donate their ovaries, but i would prefer to hear other ideas first.

I'm past the age where my eggs would be considered so it's academic. FWIW i'm one of the "my body is a collection of cells when I'm dead have at it" - but in the entire thread i've tried to spark some debate about why people might hold the views they do rather than inferring that someone's an idiot for not knowing what other people think.

Some people are ok with kidneys, heart and liver but absolutely baulk at corneas. Others are ok with all that and womb but no ovaries. Others think your body needs to be intact and buried or you won't get into heaven. All opinions are valid, and it is interesting, for once, to have a really good thoughtful debate here rather than a knee-jerk "you don't think like me you must be deranged" kind of things we so often get.

TBH I think face and hands are emotive on both sides.

I can see why someone might not want to think of their face being given to someone else, but equally I’m not sure I would want someone’s face either.

When it’s an internal organ it’s much easier to reconcile. After all, you don’t see your heart or your liver on a daily basis. Assuming it works well you don’t even really know it’s there, iyswim. But your face and hands are a part of you and are essentially what defines you. If you have a face transplant then your whole look would change. Physically you wouldn’t be you any more.

That’s the way I see it anyway.

I would have an internal organ but I don’t think I would have a face transplant. The very idea of it makes me shudder.

@PurpleDaisies

Yes it's a small sample but an organ transplant is not necessarily the life saving operation that many here seem to think it is.

Without the transplant patients will almost certainly die sooner or have a much poorer quality of life.

My friend who had the complications that killed him would disagree with you there.

He was an active person with a full life who spent his nights hooked up to the dialysis machine. Post surgery he had infection after infection and eventually his other organs failed. He spent much of his last year in pain in hospital. He often said it was the worst mistake he ever made

I opted out as I couldn’t control who my organs went to.

And there are lot of people I wouldn’t want them going to.

@AlternativePerspective your post about internal organs and face and hands sums up how I feel about it.

The face one is interesting, though, because i think people who have had face transplants still look extremely strange afterwards, and not really like the donor.

From the point of view of the recipient it is also a hugely difficult decision - i think they need a lot of therapy of all descriptions afterwards, but I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of people who would go for a face transplant if they felt their alternative was worse. Only they can know that, of course.

I don't think i'd be that bothered about my hands, feet or other body parts. As a much younger woman i wouldn't have minded about my ovaries or womb or anything, really. But then i don't have any firmly held religious beliefs or anything that makes me think that I'm anything other than worm-food after death. I suppose in a world where enough people think like that, the concept of opt-out organ donor schemes is less controversial.

Hands and feet are recognisable parts of me which is why I feel uncomfortable with it. I have no strong religious beliefs either, but I do feel strongly about eggs etc. I have chosen not to have children so I don't want someone else using my eggs and therefore there being children out there who are part of me.

@Doomsdayiscoming - who would you or wouldn’t you want your organs to go to?

Anyone can have anything of mine when I don’t need them. Have discussed as a family so everyone is aware.

[quote Parker231]@Doomsdayiscoming - who would you or wouldn’t you want your organs to go to?

Anyone can have anything of mine when I don’t need them. Have discussed as a family so everyone is aware.[/quote]
Someone like George Best.

I’ve been an organ donor all my life and always wondered why this wasn’t in place years ago. Why would anyone be concerned what happens to their body parts when they’re dead? Why would people not want to help others?

I opted out because I don’t want my reproductive system donated. I don’t like the idea of it. And weirdly I don’t like the idea of my eyes being donated either. So I opted out to allow my family to donate only the parts I find acceptable.