Gordon Brown wants us to have to "Opt Out" of Organ Donation. If you "opted out" then needed a transplant............

[Milliways]

do you think the system could move you down the priority list??

Would you want your loved ones precious organs to go to someone who would not have been willing to donate theirs??

I think the whole point of organ donation - and medicine in general - is not to question how deserving or nice the person in need is, but to treat them regardless of how you may feel about them personally.

I'd allow any of my organs to be used, and it wouldn't enter my head to say who can and can't benefit from them.

tbh if you are ill enough to need a transplant then your organs would probably be useless to be transplanted into someone else.

Would you want an organ from someone who has cancer, has aids or hepatitis C. Would you object to someone with one of these conditions recieving an organ that might give them five or ten extra years of life?

I agree with MZ and lula. The priority list must be based on objective criteria and not on merit iyswim.

Think this opt out scheme is a brilliant idea. I have told anyone who will listen that I would like my organs donated (and I think I have a card somewhere but am not sure where) but I am sure that a lot of people who would want their organs donated but havent got around to joining the scheme. This way round makes a lot of sense.

am feeding baby atm, so just bookmarking.

but there is no real prioity list as such, unless on super-urgent list

I heard people having this discussion in my work rest room today - made me think.

I am totally pro donation, and agree with the "presumbed consent", but it made me think about how someone would feel if they were carrying a "no donation" card and then found themselves in need. Do you think it would change their families view, whether they encourage family to donate etc.

Also its not as simple someone choosing to be donor. Before I was married it was pointless me carrying a donor card. My parents feel very strongly against organ transplantation. If I was brain dead then my wishes would be over ruled by my parents.

However I do have a donor card now as my husband is my next of kin. He is in favour of organ donation.

woman on THIS MORNING today had had double lung transplant cos she had CF BUT did not want the opt out scheme

cos she said the UK wasn't educated enough about it first

some religions forbid donating organs as you hvae to be buried with all your organs etc intact as far as is possible, you could not and should not then discriminate against those people if they needed a transplant

it is not about who is most deserving, if someone needs an organ and there is a match, then they shoudl get it

you can get a key ring for organ donation as well as a card

Not sure how 'educated' you have to be to opt out. Either you go for the idea or you don't. At the moment the system means that it suffers from apathy rather than benefits from it. I bet most people who don't carry a card or make their wished known don't really have strong feelings here or there but just haven't got rounf to thinking or doing anything about it.
I look after 150 kidney dialysis patients most of whom would love a kidney transplant if they could, which they mostly can't. would be glad to donate their organs.

I have ticked the box that I am prepared to donate ALL my organs. I would let surgeons decide among themselves. I am sure they can work out the finer details better than me.

At the moment I am more interested in living, for me organ donation is a bit hypothetical. I hope to live a long time.

makes you wonder....

why would opt out if you did not disagree with transplant for your own organs or receiving them?

I completely agree with Gordon Brown and can see how his own circumstances would affect his opinion too

The problem often isn't if you want to donate your organs it's whether your family want you to. it's incredible difficult to approach family members on ITU / when someone is pronounced ' brain dead' and ask them to donate their loved ones organs. It seems like ghoulish butchery at the time ; like people are rubbign hteir hands together to get hold of those organs.

The question really becomes :are you prepared to donate your loved ones organs ? and that's were the education comes in I think.

If it was higher in people's consciousness that this may be an issue it would be an easier question to ask and answer. My DH and parents know I would donate everything possible.

If you do want to donate you need to let people know it will help if the question ever needs asking.

The ITU situation is important because an opt-out system could lead to a breakdown of trust between patient/family and the medical staff. Families may question whether all that could be done has been done, even if there is no basis in fact for thinking that way.

where can you get organ donor keyring?

I believe it is a decision for the next-of-kin, rather than the potential organ donor. I believe that I would be prepared to donate my loved ones organs and I am sure that my DH would be willing to donate mine though we have never signed consent forms.

Presumed consent would simply lead to a breakdown in trust and a scandal whenever a mistake was inevitably made. Better to follow the US system where IIRC, life support machines can't be switched off until the possibility of organ donation has been ruled out.

Very interesting - and moving - article in the Guardian on this today. I thought the views of the transplant coordinator were interesting on the presumed consent issue:

"What I would like to see is a system of mandated choice," she says, "so that when you turn 16 and are allowed to go for your provisional driving licence you also get a letter through the post saying, 'What do you want to do about organ donation?' You have to make a choice at that stage, and then that choice must be supported in law. So if you choose not to become a donor, you don't become a donor; if you choose to become a donor, you become a donor, regardless of the wishes of your family."

The lady on This Morning is calld Emily - she's lovely ( i belive Misdee may know her?)

She put a lengthy post about it on the cftrust website it and why she wasn't pro opt-out.

But generally hospitals woldn't beable to cope at the moment if this was the case, there simply isn't enough staff that are trained in dealing with transplatation to handle it.

I totally agree with that, but i am pro opt-put when the hospitals are equipt to deal with it. (i couldn't not be really!)

''if they were carrying a "no donation" card and then found themselves in need. Do you think it would change their families view, whether they encourage family to donate etc.''

Yes and no, my nephew had a kidney transplant and all my side of the family have always been pro organ donation, hi having had
the transplant made us even more convinced it is the right thing to do.

Same with donating blood, my DH used to be mildly amused how I was, in his eyes, wasting my time by going th JR to donate every three months till he had a near fatal accident and was given 9 litres of blood within 6 hours. He now wishes he still could donate however his family still wont donate which I dont understand at all. DH now will donate his organs as prior he didnt want to.

hi = him