Organ Donation Opt Out

[BackforGood]

News Link

Just seen on the News that it is hoped organ donation will become 'Opt Out' rather than 'Opt In' by 2020, if the change in law gets through the final stage in the Autumn.
About time, IMO.
It was changed in Wales in 2015
Research shows that 80% of people would be happy to donate their organs, but currently only 37% have got round to signing up.

People who choose to, would still be able to register to 'opt out' , but this will hopefully mean more organs available for the 6000 currently on the waiting list.

very happy to hear this! will save thousands of lives! wonder why we didn't do it sooner

Brilliant news.

I've told all my friends and family, also have it on a laminated card with emergency contacts in my wallet.

When I'm gone or if I need switching off, they can have any part of me that's useful to someone else, I won't need it anymore.

I really disagree with an opt out system.

It should always be treated as a gift, not as a right.

I donated my son's organs, that was my choice, I would not want that choice taken out of my hands.

Great news. Total agree with this- think of all the lives that could be saved.

Buzz Why? Genuinely interested.

I'm an organ donor, can't see why you wouldn't be.

Good. I know of a man who wanted to donate but died without opting in so nothing ended up being donated. It was such a shame as it's a beautiful way to live on after death

Absolutely disagree with opt out. No one has a right to someone else's body. I am happy to donate my organs but it is a choice that I have made.

I suspect lots of people will opt out because they resent having that choice taken away.

But no ones choice is being taken away. If you don’t want to do it then you opt out!

Brilliant news. As an organ donor, I just can't understand why anyone would be against opt out. If you feel so strongly that you don't want to donate after you or a loved one dies, then opt out. Unfortunately, death isn't a subject people like to discuss and so activly opting in can be bothersome for some people. Very happy about this news.

Great news.
No one is taking any rights away! If you disagree with it then opt out.

I think this is an excellent move. My mum is only alive due to a very generous donor and to be frank not enough people actually opt in.

If it is changed to opt out then those that feel strongly enough about it to not want to donate their organs can still say no but it should mean there will be more availability for life saving surgery using donated organs.

Not sure whether I agree or not. It's a good idea as ultimately there will be more donors as that's the idea behind it. However I don't like the idea of people helping themselves to body parts as if it's a god given right. what if it's a family member or your child?

@Chocolatecoffeeaddict under 18s won't be applicable! Still the option for the parent to choose.
Other family members would have to opt out!

In Wales even with the opt out system relatives can still stop it happening. This advert was aired about it.

Buzz, it's an incredibly emotive subject for families who have lost loved ones.
I'm sorry for your loss.

But, I know a young woman who would have died without a lung transplant (she has cystic fibrosis). She was literally on the brink of death, in a vibrating jacket to try and help her keep her chest clear, stuck in hospital with no quality of life.
Some years after, she never forgets her donation, or indeed her donor and is incredibly grateful and humble that a family chose to do that for her.

I do think that opt out rather than opt in would allow more donations, but hope where the person involved is too young to choose, their family would still get to choose.

for anyone who finds this a tough subject.

I think anyone who opposes opt out would change their tune if they loved someone who needs a transplant. "What if it was your child" works both ways.

Glad It's probably going to happen.
I've told my family I'll come back and haunt them if I died and they didn't offer my organs. We didn't forget to ask when my dad passed away either, although the cancer meds he'd been on meant they couldn't take anything.

BuzzWhy? Genuinely interested.

When I made the choice to donate my son's organs it genuinely was my choice.

I was able to request various things that probably made no sense but made me feel less shit about the whole situation.

I was absolutely 100% in control over that particular part of a situation that I had no other control over.

I can only imagine what it would have been like if that choice had been taken away from me and it was another part of my childs death I had no say over.

Organ donation is, and always should be treated as, a gift and it should never be state sanctioned because,let's face it, people will always put off opting in or out, nobody wants to think about their own death.

I lost my mother 4 months ago to Sarcoidosis affecting her lungs. She had been on the transplant list for three years, but unfortunately her gift never came in time. Her lung function eventually dropped to 9% for the last year of her life. She struggled with the fact that to get her gift, another family would have to go through the devastation of losing a loved one. I think the opt out system is a brilliant idea as before going through the experience with Mum, it was something that I had never really thought about discussing with my family. It encourages people to have that talk and express their wishes to those around them, and hopefully make the decision a little easier should the worst happen.

I have carried a donor card since my teens.

But I shall opt out.

Because it is my last gift to give. Not the government's property to take.

If they ask, the answer will be, as always 'yes'. But taking without asking - never

BTW - the reason I started carrying a card so young was because my father died in my teens, before a suitable donor was found. Though by the last years other aspects of his health had deteriorated and they would almost certainly have been unable to proceed even with a good match.

I give blood and chose to go on bone marrow register. And to reiterate, if asked, they can have any part of me. But I'm opting out of the state having a right to take. I don't think it's anywhere near as simple as 'if it was your loved one, you'd support this'

@Ethelswith
Surely if you don't opt out you are giving that yes anyway?

I assume if you have opted out but they find a donor card they will err on the side of caution and not take your organs as they wouldn't really know which was right.

@Ethelswith but they are asking they are asking if you don't want to then opt out. They are not saying you have no choice.I don't understand why it's different same choice but other way round.

However I don't like the idea of people helping themselves to body parts as if it's a god given right. what if it's a family member or your child?

Well, all my family members - including my dc - have all, already opted in. It's something we talk about every now and then - funerals, death, life support machines, right to die, if people could use any parts of our bodies, donating bodies for scientific research, etc,etc.
Having given it some careful consideration, that is what everyone in my family have chosen to do.
In truth, if it - for some reason - had never been discussed, and I had ever had to make that decision, then I think that is what I would decide for any next of kin.

Buzz - I am so sorry this is a decision you have had to make

I think the stats though, about what people say they would want to happen if they were to die tomorrow, indicate that the majority of people do want to donate their organs - 80% it said on the news today. It seems a shame for that not to be reflected in the rate of donation of organs that could be donated if this law goes through.
Those who - for whatever reason - feel strongly they don't want to, can still make the choice to opt out.