Do you think organ donation should be compulsary

[Andy]

Do you think organ donation should be compulsary for people who have died? I know there is the fact of some religions not allowing it, and obviously not every one will be suitable to donate.

I personally think that the organs of some one who has died should be donated.

here are a few links i found

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4309955.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/281404.stm

Just wondering

[R30]

Hi Andy
I'm unsure about this. Obviously there are going to be cases where someone has died and their organs cannot be used due to a specific illness/condition they had.
What I would like to see is an opt-out scheme where it is understood people will donate unless they elect not to.
Be interesting to see what others have to say.
Cheers
Ruth

[Lorna]

That's quite a difficult one Andy! I tend to agree with Ruth here, especially on the idea of an opt out system whereby everyone donates unless they choose not to.

[SteveUK]

Hi Andy,

That's quite a difficult one to answer. I have put no though because I feel the notion of choice should be given. A person should have a choice if they wish to donate their kidneys after they pass.

In practice, compulsory donation of kidneys after death would work because it would free up a lot of kidneys which would get a lot of sick people off the transplant list, but in theory, people may object to their choice being taken away and then there are ethical and religious issues surrounding this whole topic.

Steve

[Julie]

I think the one thing about our current organ donations system that is wrong is that even if a person (over 18 that is) chooses to say they want to donate their organs after their death, their families still get the last say on whether their organs should actually be donated or not.

So despite a person's wishes being clearly made, they still may not have their organs donated, and I think that is wrong. I disagree that someone else gets to make that choice despite your wishes.

I for one want my organs to be used after my death, and I have been on the organ donor register for 20+ years now, and if I die and my next of kin says my organs can't be taken, I am going to come back and haunt them!!!!

Love,
Julie
xxx

[JMan]

No, because I don't think humanity or society is evolved enough to actually make this work in practice. People are too easily corruptable.

On the one hand it (an 'opt out' system) would be IDEAL. On the other I can see such a system being abused.

Maybe I should explain a little what I mean by this.
:
Scenario a) Opt out system. A much much larger increased pool of organs. Of course this requires a huge resource of surgeons, co-ordinators, , renal nurses, extra units, etc etc. Yes we need to work towards this ANYWAY, butif you changed the system tomorrow it would still take some time.

Scenario b) Person X or Y is in ICU.. A doctor has 2 choices. fight for that persons life or 'let them go'. How much would it cost to 'sway' his decisin?
The person would 'automatically' be a donor in an opt out system.

(note, if I can think of it, I believe its possible that it could occur.)

The other point is the current issue of law. At the moment the deceaseds body 'belongs' to the next of kin. To operate an 'opt out system' legally this would have to be changed somehow. Do you change it so that the state has complete rights over the body? What about the relatives wishes in this case?

There are also practical considerations such as if you suddenly have an increased supply of donors, who is going to do all the operations? Its a complex issue.

What I would like to see is 'informed consent'. And the option for this on a LOT MORE of the bits of paperwork we fill in. A start has been made on driving licence applications and some voting/electoral forms. It could be extended to insurance, passports, bank forms etc etc.
I'd also like to see countersignatories, eg by next of kin so that a pre-emptive decision is reached rather than it being made on the spur of the moment.

Also a lot more education & discussion on the matter.. the Scots Executive have an excellent video/pack for teachers & pupils of secondary school age.. Why restrict something this good to such a small area?

Just my thoughts.

J

[oldborris]

Not only do I believe that all healthy organs should be available for recycling post mortem [tho' I will never be able to benefit] but I would also insist that nobody should be allowed the right to refuse unless such refusal is accompanied by an automatic exclusion of the person so objecting from the benefit of a future transplant, even if the refusal is based on religious grounds. If a religion forbids the donation of an organ it should also refuse the acceptance of one.

[Iain]

I tend to agree with the above. I don’t think out and out compulsory would work. What I do think would work is the idea of presumed consent unless that person has specifically opted out. So instead of carrying a donor card they would carry some kind of non-donor card that’s logged on a database. I think they do this in Spain and it works pretty well. I would maybe go even further and say that anyone who decides to opt out would also be opting out of receiving any kind of transplant in the future. I think that would make a lot of folk think more seriously about it before making the decision to opt out, and thus force people to think about their own future health and what would happen if they ever needed a transplant at some point. It would be kind of like saying why should you get a place on the transplant list if you’re not prepared to donate yourself after death. There would have to loads of exemptions to that of course.

[Vikki]

Andy
As a renal failure patient who has already had a heart/lungs transplant I am all in favour of organ donation! However I do think that to make it compulsary would create problems, not least a removal of people's freedom to choose. The system which has already been suggested and in fact does take place in some countries I think where people are assumed to be donors unless they opt out is the best one as far as I am concerned. But that's just my opinion!
Vikki

[amanda in CA]

I have voted yes to your poll, but I do also agree that it should be an opt out system rather than just taking organs from a dead person per-se. Amanda

[nycpetit]

I am not sure that it could be compulsory as their are certainly many religions that believe the entire body must be buried or cremated when dead. No? So while I feel that organ donation should be more widely discussed, advertised, and people educated about it, I don't think it's possible as there are likely many people who are uncomfortable with the issue of their body being marred in some way on its way to whatever afterlife they may believe in.

Personally I feel that it would be wonderful if people could look upon it as passing a life on. But there are likely many moral and religious reasons why this would become a very heated discussion if it were ever set in place.

[Elaine]

Hiya Andy difficuilt decision?

On one hand i'd say yes as it would solve problems of organ shortage etc like in Spain.However on other hand want to be sure that people have given request for their organs (Bristol enquiry into non consent retreieval of organs) caused soo much stress and anxiety to many people and their famalies.

I would like to see an opt out process where presumed consent on provisal they HAVE definate consent etc. You always will wonder though....

Elaine

[wing]

I don't think that it is acceptable to whip someone's organs out unless they have given prior consent - and I certainly wouldn't want to be the Doctor or Nurse who had to tell the bereaved family that we'd just whipped out poor, dead, Fred's kidneys! The Daily Mail would have a field day with that one!
I do however, feel that it is acceptable that every time you make contact with G.P. or Casualty Dept or any other health facility, one of the standard questions asked should be the willingness to donate organs in the event of death. (This should also include children - parental consent should be sought).
This could be logged on some form of central computer database
and when the inevitable happens, your details flagged up and your wishes could be adhered to. This would remove the need to ask such a delicate question of bereaved relatives at a time when they may have difficulty thinking about it.

[amanda in CA]

If it was an automatic that people's organs were removed unless a stipulation was made by the family for it not to happen then I imagine that it would be easier on Doctors or nurses since the request would not need to be made. It must be far harder now for someone to approach a relative and broach the subject. Amanda

[amanda in CA]

Over here every time I go into hospital I am asked if I have signed a power of attorney (think that is what it is called, anyway it is essentially a living will) in which should I so wish, put all my wishes if I were unable to make a decision for myself. As far as I am aware this is a legally binding document. I think that they should do the same thing in the UK and then your wishes are clearly set out. As it stands at the moment, in my view, if someone is carrying a donor card then the family can over-rule that, which I don't agree with. I have read somewhere it's to do with who owns a body and because the person whose body it is is no longer alive (I presume that applies to someone who is brain dead on life support) then they cannot own their body! Amanda