would love to hear all the worthy personal reasons why people would happily accept organs but not donate them (I dont mean be unable to donate I mean actively choose not to). Its not spite to place value on altruism or dislike hypocrisy. It is interesting to see how people get upset about the prospect of losing out in a system they dont choose to support. the key here is the word “personal”. Those reasons are personal to the individual and are frankly none of yours or anyone else’s business. If you opt out you are not asked for a reason why you’ve opted out. if your family say no they’re not asked to justify why they’ve said no.
people don’t need to have a “worthy” reason for declining to donate their organs.
Added to which, the decision to donate or not to donate is usually one which is e.g. discussed down the pub or at the dinner table, whereas the news that you will need an organ is usually a piece of news which is delivered at the point when they tell you there’s nothing more that they can do for you.
But let me enlighten you as to how your personal hypocrisy could affect transplant recipients.
When you are told that you are going to need a transplant you know that if you are to receive that transplant then you will have to wait for the right person to die in the right circumstances You know that someone somewhere has made the decision to let that person’s organs be donated, and has said goodbye to that person while they are still breathing and their heart is still beating.
It is an incredible gift which the recipient will never lose sight of. There is an element of acceptance that your life will be built on someone else’s death and the grief of their families.
Organ recipients don’t happily receive a transplant, they do so with gratitude to the person who made the selfless decision for their’s or their family’s organs to be donated.
If this decision happened off the back of emotional blackmail and fear i.e. “sign up for the transplant list or be left to die if you need a transplant,” many would opt not to receive organs.
Or do you think that recipients are gleefully waiting for someone to die so they can benefit?
I am not against organ donation.
But am equally not going to “happily” receive an organ when I need one, and I do need one. The journey towards transplant is one of trepidation, anticipation and the knowledge that if an organ doesn’t come along in time, you will die. There is no place for emotional threats towards other people along that journey.
So give it some thought and stop bloody virtue signalling.
There is nothing altruistic about what you’re suggesting. Nothing.