I’ve withdrawn from organ donation register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Sadly I have just withdrawn as protest against reproductive organ donation.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).

Would never occur to me to opt out!

Same premise applies as to any other organ - if I'm dead, why would I care? If it's going to bring someone else joy, then have it - with all my blessings.

As has been said over and over again by many of us, we don't trust government on this, given they can change the rules (and did re opt out) without even telling us. So that's no insurance.

No there is not. Nowhere listed is uterus/Reproductive organs.

So you can't. Since it's not an option at the moment, it is not listed.

One other question for you.

Even if someone has opted out, would the hospital still ask relatives if the person dying changed their mind about donating, or is that a breach of the rules?

I understand only around one in 100 people who die in the UK are usually able to be donor, so it seems a shame if hospitals can't ask, as it's possible family would know their loved one changed their mind after opting out.

They did tell us about opt out. It was all over the news, as was people protesting about it.

I just hope all those people opting out dont need (or their loved ones) a transplant or if they do they are happy to decline a transplant and live with a shortened life.

It's obviously your right and decision to opt out, however personally I think this madness because of the recent womb transplant to lose people off the register is so wrong.

Your organs could potentially save another persons life, and to withdraw yourself over a concern that your reproductive organs may be used is bizarre to me.

The technology to do this is still in its infancy, and even when it becomes more common place I highly doubt they'll be harvesting wombs to give other people the chance to have children. Having a child isn't a life or death matter, but a failing heart is.

So if the government can change the rules as they wish, why do you think they'd respect your opting out if they really wanted your organs?

Surely if they won't respect your wishes of "Only take the organs I've specifically said you can have, don't also help yourself to my brain and reproductive organs too" why would they respect your "Don't take anything" wishes?

I've decided to nominate my loved ones to decide for me on the NHS organ donot website, and tell my family that I am happy to donate organs as long as my dignity is preserved at all times.

I don't think anyone has answered this question - would the the people opting out of donating an donor organ accept an organ and why?

They did tell us about opt out. It was all over the news, as was people protesting about it.

Well not everyone knows. So the message didn't get out to everyone, therefore we can't rely on that.

Do you also complain when your council don't tell you when your bin day is or do you go and find out the info yourself?

Yet. Yet. They legally can't take it yet. Given presumed consent/opt out, I don't trust them at all.

I work with very sick children awaiting donors, many die waiting.

It is entirely possibly in the existing system to specify what organs you would be willing to donate. Why not simply specify that you are not happy for a uterine donation? Why make innocent, vulnerable people suffer?

Secondly, uterine transplants are only offered via clinical research trials, and donors and recipients would both have to give explicit consent. No one would have their uterus 'taken' from them without fully knowing where it was going. Such transplants will not be offered as standard care until the various rigourous processes have been put in place, which is many many years away after strict review by ethical boards which are unlikely to approve expect for the most challenging circumstances (and frankly I don't ever see there being sufficient cost-benefit to see it offered on the NHS).

Frankly you are being incredibly selfish and hysterical. However it is, of course, your free choice to do so.

Thank you to @Destiny123 and @Heyheyitsanotherday for your explanations. I have rejoined the register and specified certain organs only (everything except tissue). Hopefully by specifying certain organs only that will end the issue of reproductive organs, skin or limbs ever being added in the future.

I think more people like me would opt not to take a transfusion/transplant if there was a quick and easy way to ensure the NHS is aware of that choice. There isn't a simple flag that they can activate in your medical file that records this.

I asked every NHS professional that I came into contact with for years about how I go about recording this wish, and I know it's not a unique request because there are people who can not accept transfusion or transplant for religious reasons, so it must be something that comes up from time to time, yet every single person that you'd think might have an idea how to go about this answered my queries with a shrug. Not even any indication of who I might actually have to talk to in order to record this. Even the actual Register Helpline staff had no idea how I could go about recording this, which seems like a huge oversight and shortfall in training given that the religiously based requirement for this already existed prior to the advent of 'opt out'.

As it stands, Advance Directive is quite literally my only means to have this choice made known, and even then, there is no legal compulsion for doctors to actually respect it, as they could argue about the ethics of non-treatment after the fact. Also, it's highly unlikely it would even be looked at in an emergency room triage scenario.

I can't really reconcile how they can operate organ donation on an 'opt in by default' basis, yet simultaneously can't provide something as simple as a flag in my medical record to unequivocally prevent me being transfused without my consent.

There was consultation. You're just displaying your ignorance here.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/introducing-opt-out-consent-for-organ-and-tissue-donation-in-england/consultation-on-introducing-opt-out-consent-for-organ-and-tissue-donation-in-england

No I'm not happy with it, but it's not like us women are left with much choice.

Blame the crook scientists who want to make a buck out of this and the trans activists who pushed for it. They're the ones to blame in this. Not women who are forced into making a choice we never wanted to make.

Do you mean this consultation?

So much ignorance and hysteria on this thread.

I'd like to know just how wide this 'consultation' was. How many were consulted/respondents. And for how long did this 'consultation' go on for.

It can't have been adequate if many/most never even heard of it. So much for 'consultation'.

You see you keep throwing this around but the reality is the only reason I knew at the time is because it was posted and discussed on mumsnet.

I don’t recall seeing or reading anything about it in the mainstream media.

and it is ok to disagree with people but it’s not ok to be rude and call people hysterical etc

So why do many/most people say there was no consultation? It can't have been widely disseminated

Possibly because loads of people live in their own bubble and pay no attention to anything that isn't immediately standing in front of them.

It was all over news for years in advance of the change, and NHS Scotland (at least) sent a mailshot to every home detailing the changes months in advance, hence why I was able to "opt out" months before the change was actually made.

There isn't much to be done if people choose not to pay attention to news sites and so on.

"I didn't know about it, so it didn't happen" seems to be the default arrogance on here.

It doesn't matter how many resources and how much money the government is in to any publicity about new laws or benefits, there will always be people who don't see it. Hence the millions of people who qualify for benefits yet don't claim them.

To be honest, I really don't understand how far under a rock people must be not to see or hear about such changes.

They did tell us, it was all over the media at the time.

The fact that you clearly missed it, isn't the Governments fault.