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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU To think that if you are not on a doner register you should give up any rights to a donated organ?

324 replies

littlemoominmamma · 04/12/2009 14:04

Do you think this would be a reasonable idea? If you have an organ donation card you should be entitled to an organ.... if not then that is your choice?

OP posts:
GypsyMoth · 04/12/2009 14:06

no....

bintofbohemia · 04/12/2009 14:07

interesting... Not sure what I think...

ra29needsabettername · 04/12/2009 14:08

I think yabu. However I think people who do not carry donor cards abvvvu

CatIsSleepy · 04/12/2009 14:08

well i can see your thinking but YABU
am not sure you can discriminate against a dying person on the grounds of the presence or absence of a piece of cardboard

ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 04/12/2009 14:09

No. That's barbaric. What is needed is an 'opt out' scheme rather than an opt in, which would solve many problems.

Most people can donate blood but don't - should they be denied a transfusion as well?

msrisotto · 04/12/2009 14:09

I can see your point and kind of agree with the principle but obviously it is unworkable.

franke · 04/12/2009 14:10

Nasty.

diddl · 04/12/2009 14:10

Kind of like the idea.

But this is the sort of thing that has to be done altruistically, surely?

2ChildrenPlusLA · 04/12/2009 14:11

Don't be daft.

UpYourViva · 04/12/2009 14:11

YABU, its not something ive given much considereration. However, you cant deny someone an organ simply because they havnt offered out their own!

Original poster
littlemoominmamma · 04/12/2009 14:13

By the way I am not yet registered myself, but have found out that i have a weak heart valve and it got me thinking.............

How could i take a valve or heart from someone when i am not willing to do it myself it seems really selfish, so i am going to register now.

OP posts:
missorinoco · 04/12/2009 14:14

Contentious! I can see where you are coming from, but I don't think it's the way ahead either. Few people ever think it will happen to them in advance, either being a donor or a recipient.
I think opt out would be the best plan too.

Original poster
littlemoominmamma · 04/12/2009 14:18

My point is that we never think it will happen to us or to our children, but there must be hundreds of ordinary familys going through this right now ........... with no hope of getting an organ because we do not like to think about it.

OP posts:
frakkinaroundthechristmastree · 04/12/2009 14:21

Some people won't be able to donate their organs for whatever medical reason. Denying them one is unfair.

As someone said - should those who can't give blood be denied an transfusion? If that was the case I'd be dead right now. My first transfusion was in '86 so now I can't blood even though I would love to.

Also agree we need an opt out scheme though.

RockBird · 04/12/2009 14:22

No way should we have an opt out system, that's an appalling idea. I give blood and am giving serious thought to registering as an organ donor but I very very strongly feel that there is no way that anyone else should have a call on your body, the one thing in the world that is totally and utterly yours. How dare anyone else think that they can decide what happens to your flesh and bones. Of course there should be serious thought given to how to improve the situation but opt out is not the answer.

nickelbabe · 04/12/2009 14:22

it's a good point to think on, but somebody might not have ever given it thought: then if they get into a situation where they need an organ but can't have one because of something they've never thought about?
isn't that why we have the NHS and not health insurance?

i have seen political debate about the opt-out thing too: i do agree that it should be opt-out, not opt-in, because there are so many that wouldn't think about it.

then you can opt-out on religious grounds etc.

santaschristmascakeywakey · 04/12/2009 14:23

Yes YABU, should be an opt-out scheme rather than an opt-in IMO though. They would still need to ask next-of-kin permission before taking any organs for donation anyway.

What would happen to people who have chronic illness/es for example, who might not carry a donor card because their organs wouldn't be suitable for transplant anyway? Just a thought.

diddl · 04/12/2009 14:25

How does it work in UK now?

If someone has a "donor card", can a relative veto it?

Likewise,if consent hasn´t been given, can a relative decide that it is what someone would have wanted?

Don´t agree with opt out, tbh.

LetThereBeRock · 04/12/2009 14:25

YABU.

I'm with Rockbird on the opt out system.Yes they may be dead and have no further use for their body, but it's still theirs and no one should have the right to use it or any part of it without consent.
I hate the idea of our bodies becoming public property.

And yes I am on the organ donor list.

Portofino · 04/12/2009 14:28

YABU. In Belgium they apparently don't want any of my nasty, mad cow infected blood, though I am more than happy to donate it. I rather hope that I would still get a transfusion in the event that I needed on though! I agree with the Opt out postition.

SouthernLights · 04/12/2009 14:28

The people who can't give are often the people who desperately need to receive. Seriously low haemoglobin levels can prevent you from giving blood; does that mean you shouldn't have a transfusion if you need one? If your heart's knackered and you need a transplant, surely there's no point offering to donate it to someone else? The purpose of a society is so that those who have can help those who do not have, through no fault of their own (yes, I do agree the welfare system needs reform, but its purpose and intention is sound). If only those who are willing/able to put in get to take out, it's not a "donation", it's a bank.

Original poster
littlemoominmamma · 04/12/2009 14:30

Even if your organs are unuseable you could agree in principal and if you needed a transplant it would be as easy as signing something to say you would be a doner before you go into theatre when you sign the consent form.

OP posts:
AMumInScotland · 04/12/2009 14:30

YABU - the NHS works on the principle that people get help because they need it, not because they've earned it, either by paying money or by "being considerate" by having an organ donor card. They do not judge whether a person "deserves" to be treated.

diddl - AFAIK the relative still has the choice - having a card or going on the register is a way of making it clear to your relatives what your own views about it were. But it's still their choice when it comes to it.

misdee · 04/12/2009 14:32

YABU

dh never got round to registering. and has since had a heart transplant. like you said, you never got round to it until it affected yourself.

most people dont think abut organ donation everyday like i do. They dont sit in the evening, with their hands on their dp/dw/dh chest and think 'wow, thats not actually your heart but its beating so strong.'

I think opt out could work, but it would need MASSIVE campaigning. In my opinion its not much different to the system we have, but instead of saying 'yes i will donate' then people have to get off their butts and actually do soemthing about NOT donating iyswim.

We are in a bad situation with that most people agree with organ donation, but only 22% are actually registered on the organ donation site. We need to up those stats, but denying people organs because they havent registered isnt the way to go. that would make figures decline even more, and then more people would die.

my dh was one of the lucky ones. so many of our friends were not.

waitingforbedtime · 04/12/2009 14:35

YABU that isn't fair but it should be an opt out system. If you feel that strongly about it, opt out, end of.

I didn't feel so strongly about this until my father got diagnosed with kidney failure, believe me, seeing someone go through that - going on dialysis, and us all waiting and waiting and waiting for a transplant isn't pleasant and if I thought I could releive another family of that in the event of my death I would do it in a flash, I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy.

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