[Bosco]

Get a living will, which would supersede the organ donation, stating how you wish to be treated/when you would donate your organs.

You can be both altruistic but also protect your human dignity.

[MineralMan]

"I am angriest, that I am not the only one who has so decided, and that as a result I am convinced that people who could otherwise have been saved have died as a result of an artificially low number of organ donations.

Just another day on the slippery slope."

---

I decided just the opposite. It seems very unlikely to me that my life would be taken to harvest organs if there was a chance I would survive.

It is human beings who make such decisions. I have a living will, too, that specifies when life support measures should be removed in case in case my wife, who knows exactly what I think, is not available. It's in my wallet, right behind my driver's license.

I figure the odds are so small that anyone would make the wrong decision that my capacity to, perhaps, save someone elses life or restore their vision far outweighs that miniscule risk.

I don't deal in faint possibilities. I deal in realities.

But, it's your choice.

[leda]

i've checked no too but for somewhat different reasons.
i don't mind donating my organs, but here, if i were to
check yes, i am relinquishing control of my entire body.
i could literally be chopped up willy nilly in pieces and
there's not a darned thing my kids could do about it.

i'd just like to have some say about the donations being
made so i'm clear about my wishes to my family. i'd rather
put those decisions in their hands.

[BipolarBob]

The danger in our state is that YOU or your estate will be CHARGED to remove your organs if the donee has not the funds or refuses to pay for the organ transplant. Which vindicates the proverb "no good deed goes unpunished".

[Admin Moderator]

The Activism sidebar is reserved for Activism, protests, news and business of Free Republic Chapters.

Not your vanities.

Please read the following for FR's posting rules for further guidelines.

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Thanks,

[mysterio]

But then a fear crept into my head - what if I was seriously ill, and "they" decided to hasten my as of yet not-inevitable death to harvest my organs?

Most likely won't happen. From what I've read, a lot of the organs harvested come from automobile accidents where the brain is basically destroyed.

I'm not an organ donor, either. My reason is selfish. I don't like the idea of having my corpse cut up and scrapped out. Hopefully, I'll grow up and change my mind, because that makes me feel a bit guilty.

[ASOC]

Read the "Gill the A.R.M." series of SciFi books - or "Bill the Galatic Hero" if you want a look at that future.
And that future may already be here, with reports of/arrests for body parts ripped off (no pun BTW) from funeral homes and hospitals.

Bbbrrrrrrrr, crazy.

[SampleMan]

People are "kept alive" when they are organ donors until a team can be put together to harvest the organs. "They" don't have any reason to hasten your demise.

Unless things change a lot, select "organ donor".

[1rudeboy]

Donate your organs now and avoid the wait. Just a thought.

[busstopsindetroit]

http://www.transweb.org/myths/myths.htm

"Myth #3
"If I'm in an accident and the hospital knows I want to be a donor, the doctors won't try to save my life!"

Reality
The medical team treating you is separate from the transplant team.
The organ procurement organization (OPO) is not notified until all lifesaving efforts have failed and death has been determined. The OPO does not notify the transplant team until your family has consented to donation."

Your medical team's job is to save your life-if they cannot, they have failed, and believe me, they don't want to do that. They have no vested interest in procuring your organs. If the sanctity of life is important to you, please reconsider.

[Gabz]

I have also opted out of organ donation on my DL.......but for entirely different reasons than yours.

I am a smoker, smokers are considered lower than snake bellies when it comes to a place in line for an organ donation.....so if I am going to be discriinated against in the possibility of receiving a life saving transplant, I will be just as discriminatory when it comes to offering the same.

As mentined by others, I also have a living will, and my family is aware of my wishes when it comes to organ donation.in my case it is non-smokers need not apply.

[Not A Snowbird]

I've made my wishes clear. With or without the little box checked, my husband knows that any of my parts are available to save a life or improve a life for someone else.

I also trust my husband to make sure I'm good and dead of the usual causes before such measures are taken.

I won't need my human body where I'm going. :-)

[A knight without armor]

I'm divided on this. I want to help people but organ donation is a gray area for me. But that is just me. I say God Bless those who do selflessly help others.

I don't know if all this is true or not but here are a couple interesting things:

http://www.geocities.com/organdonate/index.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/12/health/main567903.shtml

[Not A Snowbird]

As an afterthought, my husband does tissue flights... taking the nurses and doctors to where organs are to be harvested and flying the organs back.

I can't count how many times he's been called for a flight then put on "on again, off again" hold because the patient hasn't expired. Nobody is hastening anything, it's actually the exact opposite. He's waited up to 24 hours before to launch for one of these flights after initial notification.

[pollyannaish]

Organ Donation is just that, a donation.

Which way you decide is completely voluntary and up to you no matter what your reason, which means "just because" is good enough.

No guilt need be involved.

[Liberal Classic]

Organ donations save lives.

[varyouga]

I'm not sure how to say it right but it gives an incentive for your death. It makes your death 'not as bad' to outsiders. I've also worked at a few hospitals and wouldn't trust the staff with that decision.

If you donate, make a very specific living will that clearly defines 'death' and when your organs can be removed. The one at the DMV is too open ended.

[GrammaLou]

My reason for not donating. From all I've heard about transplants, the donor is not dead. The donor has to be alive to donate. Perhaps, I could be just "brain dead" when my heart or liver was taken, but maybe just not functioning really, really well. Also, anesthetics cannot be used to ease any pain. I really don't want my last moments on earth to be spent in excruciating pain. If one of my organs was needed by one of my children or grandchildren, then, and only then, would it be considered. My children know this.

[durasell]

...also, the kitchen staff of a restaurant will spit (or worse) in your food if they don't like your looks or if you didn't tip enough the last time you visited the establishment.

[SKI NOW]

I'm with Walter Williams on this one.