I’ve withdrawn from organ donation register

[Purpledogcollar]

I give blood and have always been very pro organ donation.

Sadly I have just withdrawn as protest against reproductive organ donation. I can’t support it and am very conflicted as would like to donate other organs.

What are your views and is it a hasty decision (although not sure I would change my mind).

It does if those “opinions” defy logical reasoning.

Sobering reading
https://www.statista.com/statistics/519829/patient-deaths-on-organ-transplant-waiting-list-united-kingdom-uk/

“The number of people waiting for a kidney transplant in the UK was over 4.7 thousand in 2022, which was the highest for any organ by quite a distance. This was followed by individuals waiting for liver transplants and heart transplants with 612 and 320 patients each respectively. The problem exists is that in 2021/22 the number of potential donors was over five times the number of actual donors in the UK.”

You can not argue "logical reasoning" on highly personal and complex decisions that involve peoples bodies, boundaries, religion or beliefs and fears.

I agree with the other poster that this all makes you sound less intelligent than you think you are.

I opted out once it became an opt-out system. My body, my choice.

@OneMorePlant yet you aren’t critiquing the intelligence of people saying they are opting out of organ donation over something that does not exist in the current system, if it ever will at all.

A belief being personal does not make it factually correct.
The actual issue is not complex - OP has opted out citing something that is not a factor in the reality of the process as her reason. Is that a usual marker for intelligence?

With regard to people who have had cancer, I saw this on the NHS Website.

Can you become an organ donor if you have had cancer?
Someone with current active cancer cannot become an organ donor. However, it may be possible for people with certain types of cancers to donate after three years of treatment. It may also be possible to donate corneas and some tissue in these circumstances.

I have had breast cancer. I am on the register to donate everything. I imagine they will know from my records or infact seeing my breasts, that I have had treatment.

I think it’s a tad bit illogical because uterine transplants require live donors? So you’d be around to consent or not consent to that bit of you being donated.

There isn’t any organ donation after death that involves the uterus in existence now, or likely to be in the future. Why? Because the science experimented with uterine transplants from cadavers and they never could get a successful pregnancy to happen, so they moved on to live donors.

So opting out of the NHS organ donation program for donating your organs after your death over a fear your uterus may be taken from you after your death is, well, illogical.

HTH.

As the sibling of a heart transplant recipient, who is doing incredibly well almost 4 years after transplant, can I say a massive thank you to people on this thread who are still willing to donate their organs, they really can change someone's entire life. The generosity of Donors and Donor families is amazing.

I speak as someone who believes in organ donation as I've seen the transformative power it has. I also totally understand we all have autonomy over our own bodies and I have opted out of cornea donation and tissue donation due to my own personal preferences. Ultimately the donation decision would be made by my NOK so it's important to make them aware of what you would like to happen in the event of your death.

If you are worried about being brain dead, you could put it into a living will.
“If I’m in a coma, before you pull the plug I do not consent to donating my uterus no matter what my NOK say”

Have only read the OP’s posts, so may well be repeating here.

I kind of get the reasoning, I would definitely not want my reproductive system to be used. But I would want all my others organs to be utilised. Reality, due to various health issues, means that most of them would be useless, but I’d want whatever us viable to be used.

@Jamielikescheese uterus transplant from dead donors does not exist in the NHS, right now, in the system she was previously subscribed to and now has unsubscribed from.

It is unlikely ever to, for reasons outlined above by people who have bothered themselves with such silly things as facts and research. If that changes, an opt in on some things and not on others would be offered as it is on everything else.

She has started a thread to fear monger based on a fictitious scenario and in doing so is happy for people to miss out on life saving donations either from the OP or others swayed by her misinformation.

That is illogical.

You are becoming guilty of what you repeatedly accuse me of, but, for the record, your opinion of my intelligence in defence of what is an action of spite and/or attention seeking is absolutely no concern of mine.

I think it's really sad to be happy to donate your organs, but withdraw over this.

As far as I am aware reproductive organs are not routinely used, and need express consent from the donor along with many other body parts.

There is nothing stopping you from opting in to being a donor and leaving instructions with your family and on your medical records that you do not consent for A, B and C and only wish to donate X Y and Z...

Of course everyone has a right to choose what happens to their own body, but it seems a bit spiteful to withdraw all consent over this when you were otherwise happy to be a donor.

It wouldn’t be fair for me to opt out. I have genetic eye dystrophy and may eventually need cornea transplants.

She has started a thread to fear monger based on a fictitious scenario and in doing so is happy for people to miss out on life saving donations either from the OP or others swayed by her misinformation

If I could like this post, I most certainly would. The above is exactly what the OP has done. She doesn't want uteruses to transplanted into trans women, although this scenario is so far-fetched it is science-fiction. It is simply the anti-trans agenda again. Please take it to the feminism board. (Or the Books board.)

You have to be alive while they carry out the procedure. Both donor and recipient are in surgery, together, in same OR. You can’t put a uterus on ice.

Womb donation was tried the usual method you describe, but no live births.

@Jamielikescheese Suddenly I’m reminded of the saying ‘Never play chess with pigeons’.

It would only be possible to take from a brain dead donor if no living will saying do not donate my uterus and NOK said sure go ahead AND there just happened to be a match in the same hospital at the same time.

No, the science is not there to do womb transplants under the usual organ donation program. As I said, they tried that and they never could get a successful pregnancy using the usual method. You really haven’t been following the science on this at all.

The uterine transplant is from live, living donors, not from donors at the point of death as you are alleging. This is because you cannot transport the uterus - it has to go from the donor straight into the recipient with as little delay as possible. The surgeries are done back to back by two teams.

The donor carries on with her life per normal as she’s just had a total hysterectomy.

Here is the current procedure for a uterine transplant.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7464820/

Lets hope you and all the other posters who have cancelled their names from the donor organ transplant register never need an organ themselves.

Have any of you thought what would happen to any one of you if everyone did the same thing and there were no organs left to transplant? Over 6000 people in the UK are awaiting an organ. 400 people die each year because they are on a waiting list for organs which never come.

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

The science is there, you are just not prepared to accept the fact you are alive when they take the organs.

If you want to look it up, the way they are referred to are
LD for live/living donors,
DD for deceased donors who are the brain dead donors and,
DCD which are the usual donation after cardiac death or as you called them, the “doctor declared” dead donors

The organ donation program that you opt out of is for DCD (donation after cardiac death)

Uterine transplants only use LD donors in the U.K.

Some centres elsewhere in the world use DDs so that is possible BUT hotly debated as unethical and so unlikely to be done here any time soon.

Even if it were, just do a living will or they’d probably add it as an opt out organ on the NHS website for you if they do anyway.

In other words, keep calm and carry on.