Gordon Brown in favour of presumed consent for organ donation

[WendyWeber]

It's a start

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i knew something would be bought up in trhe media this month but wasnt sure what i do think opt out is one way of increasing the amounts of organs available for donation but there will always be people not happy with the way any system is run.

Alla bloody loooo ya

ive been saying for years, why the hell isn't organ donation opt- out, because so many people i know are always 'meaning to get round to it'

I wish they'd stop fannying about like this, though.

If they're going to change the system, get on with it. If they're not, put some elbow-grease into promoting donor-cards.

I've jsut been reading the comments on have Your Say on the BBC website. Some of them are unbelievable. Some people are saying "I'm not giving my organs to teh government" Don't they understand they won't be giving them to the governement but tos oemone in desperate need of them

we should go one step more..all those who sign the form to opt OUT should note the clause that says 'and you forfeit your right to a donated organ, yah sucks to you!'

I'm sorry but I'm not in favour of presumed consent. At all. I understand the need for more organ donors since seat belts and motorcycle helmets have reduced the supply of road casualties. But the idea that your organs are theirs to dispose of unless you state otherwise leaves me very uneasy.

At a practical level I just don't think hard-pressed docs and nurses in busy A&E depts will always be rigorous about checking the register. I know what the NHS is like and people in A&E can be frantic.

I can't say I'm thrilled about the idea of 'presumed consent'. The state doesn't own our bodies. It's only a short step from taking a life-saving organ to taking organs for research. The Alder Hey scandal demonstrated how the public felt about this.

Would 'presumed consent' extend to children? As much as I'm in favour of organ donation, I wouldn't want parents to feel their child had been somehow abused in death just because they hadn't objected at the time of their greatest sorrow.

The sort of media-hype that these cases would create would, I believe, damage the Organ Donor movement, not promote it.

I would definitely support an opt-out rather than opt-in as long as it was effectively promoted/advertised. Although I would probably exclude the under-18s from this.

TheDUchess. Where is your empathy? Can you for a minute imagine what it is like to be in and out of hospital all your life, to suffer horrible side effects from drugs? to not be able to live a normal life when an organ/tissue a dead person doesn't need anymore can give you your life back in a second.

How would you feel???????

Or if that doesn't tug your strings..then imagine it was your much beloved child.

The despair and frustration are immeasurable.

i do think opt out is the way to go, or another option os the spainish way, where you have co-ordinaters in hospitals, more teams who are bale to retrieve organs and better awareness.

presumed/opt out could've gotton Peter his much needed heart a lot quicker, and saved him from being on the LVAD, thus meaning his memory wouldnt be shot to pieces as it is now, that the kids could;ve had daddy home so much wuicker and not have our lvies on hold for 2years.

Cystic Fibrous (cant spell) patients would probably have better odds if they went on the transplant list, compared to the current only 50% of patients who will receive lungs in time.

so many more lives could be saved.

That is opt-out, isn't it?

Did you see the bit from the woman whose husband had died of melanoma which meant that the only organs of his which could be used were his corneas; she was asked on the phone about his sexual history, amongst other things - here.

I think if the transplant teams have got the time to make that kind of call (due to concerns about HIV) you don't need to worry too much about them whipping parts out without proper consent

I am completely in favour of the op out system. I believe that if someone feels strongly about not donating they will be more likely to make their wishes known. On the other hand there are many more people who would be willing to donate but haven't got round to registering.
The other reason, is that especially for the family of the deceased, it is a traumatic time and many families are too distraught to think clearly about donating. If this was automatic it would mean not having to ask questions about donating at such a difficult time. The staff would just check the opt out records before proceeding.

All my family are on the donor register including dd from 18mths old. I know that if she required a transplant I would want her to have one and therefore, how could I expect this if I am not prepared to donate my organs or my childrens.

That's a very good point, tori, that if someone feels strongly they will opt out.

And the decision should be that of the donor alone - if aged over 18 - not the donor's family.

misdee every NHS trust has a transplant co-ordination team who are called to any accidental or non disease related death to establish if organs can be donated. Unfortunately, for safety of the recipient, many personal questions have to be asked which can be more traumatic for the grieving family. That is why the opt out system is better.

Exactly wendy.

every trust has one, but a trust a large area. i think they want one in almost every hospital.

I'm of the 'if you are dead (or about to die), you aren't going to know and if you can help someone you should' school of thought.

But most importantly, I've told EVERYONE and have a living will lodged with the doctor to this effect (even including a clause that says 'feel free to keep me on life support for long enough to get the transplant team ready').

I've lived a good life, I don't drink, smoke and am healthy. If it was my child that needed an organ I would hope others would feel the same way and give a final gift.

You wouldn't normally get more than 2-3 patients per day to assess over a trust as many RTA victims are ventilated in ICU before decisions are made. I have had dealings with the transplant team working in operating theatres. I have took part in retrieval of organs in a circulating role (sadly a 7yo girl involved in a cycling accident.) The courage of her parents reduced me to tears.

I have a strong view about this. Firstly my ex husband had a kidney donation and thanks to a poor guy falling off a ladder loads of people had a new lease of life. Also I know it is emotive when it comes to children but having lost a child last year people should not think of child death as in a sweet white coffin with a rose. The dirty facts of death are that most children are required to have a post mortem to determine cause of death so the poor child's organs are removed temporariily for weighing and examination and then returned. Surely it is better to know that someone's organs can live on when the person cannot. I offered my child's organs but was turned down as he had been too badly injured

Oh, caz!

So sorry about your son, and that you couldn't even have the small consolation of helping another child.

Caz, I'm so sorry to hear about your son, but your post really echoes what I think - if any good can come out a tragedy, it should be encouraged and you deserve praise for trying to help others at a time when your life was falling apart.

Jade Stoner was featured in that BBC piece - I remember this Mail article about her from last year. I was (and still am) so impressed with her mother's strength and ability to look out beyond her own loss and grief.

i'm totally in favour of an opt out system. ds has been on the organ donor register since he was 3 months old - i feel the same way as tori, i would want him to have a donor if he needed one, so how can i not give that gift if we were in that situation? much as i don't want to have to think about it, some people don't have an option not to think about it, and i want to help them.

until i joined MN and heard about Misdee and Peter, i thought having a donor card was enough. now me, dh and ds are all signed up to the organ donor register.

what i would find interesting, is how many people would be "getting round" to opt out, if that was the system. it's easy to be apathetic about something if it doesn't concern you directly, isn't it?