Presumed Consent

[SueEllen]

Sorry, but current voluntary system is best. If you want to bang the drum then get out there and persuade people to become donors.

The current voluntary system doesn't work as it is not law.

For example if you are on the donor register and have discussed with your nearest and dearest, but then unfortunately you end up in an motorbike accident where you are brain dead you will not automatically be considered for as a donor because:
1. your nearest and dearest is too hysterical/in such as state the doctor feels they cannot ask consent
2. Or your nearest and dearest blantantly refuses to give consent when asked.

I would like it so the law was changed so if you were on the donor register your relations couldn't refuse.

And remember in situations where you could potentially be a donor it's possibly not the relations you expect who would be giving consent.

[BoredBloke]

"It should be my choice."

It still is. You can opt out and presumably this would go on your medical records and you could inform your next of kin that you specifically want your internal squishy bits to rot down in your box.

"I am concerned about the system failing someone who as opted out. What if the sytem fails or they forgot their opt out card?"

The opposite happens now. Organs go to waste and living people die as a result. Look at it this way. You opt out and your organs get mistakenly used in a transplant. The result is that you are still dead and somebody else either lives or has a much better chance of living. Your coffin is also lighter as part of you has been recycled. Compare that with now. You don't want to donate and your organs go with you and the person who might have taken advantage of your demise dies also. The result being 2 dead people. Personally I'd rather have the first one of the 2.

"What happens when doc decides that your organs would be better harvested than trying to save you?"

I think you would find that they would keep people on life support longer while they carry out tissue matching and the transplant work up. Organs degrade at a fair rate and the chances of survival from a live donor is far greater than from a dead one. Also, this scheme would generate lots of organs - too many infact. So it's not like the doctors are going to be waiting over you ready to pinch your liver. You have to consider how many people die each day and how many transplant units there are * max number of operations per day. When my wife had her transplant, the donor (her mum) went down to have one taken out at about 8am. My wife made it back to the ward at 9pm that night due to various complications. There are only so many transplant units meaning there would not be a huge rush to harvest organs.

"Sorry, but current voluntary system is best. If you want to bang the drum then get out there and persuade people to become donors."

No it isn't because it results in people being maintained on machines while perfectly good organs get wasted. While on these machines their health degrades and eventually you can get to the situation that the person becomes so ill that they cannot have the operation as it would finish them off. If you really feel strongly about opting out then there would be a mechanism for handling that. If your organs were taken after you had opted out then presumably there will be a whole new breed of ambulance chasers ready to claim that bit of compensation - although it wouldn't matter to you as you would still be dead.

[Cyberman]

A paramedic on Talksport radio this morning said he knew of at least two cases where an organ donor card had been found on a person that they were trying to resuscitate. Once the card had been found their efforts to resuscitate were stopped and the patient was wheeled away to become a donor.

I wonder what will happen once donor cards do not have to be found ??!!

[Spartacus]

Blame the law of unintended consequences

The shortage of transplant organs has been closely linked to the compulsory seatbelt wearing law. Prior to that, most organs were harvested from fatal car crash victims, of which there are now far less.

My answer then is to repeal the seat belt laws. Therefore only the stupid will have their organs harvested.

[Diver]

The shortage of transplant organs has been closely linked to the compulsory seatbelt wearing law. Prior to that, most organs were harvested from fatal car crash victims, of which there are now far less.

My answer then is to repeal the seat belt laws. Therefore only the stupid will have their organs harvested.

We have a large pool of available or easily obtainable doner organs. all we have to do is harvest them. They are called Chav's

[IR35 Avoider]

4. Open to abuse and mistakes.

Surely the only mistake that really matters is them not being able to tell whether you're really dead? And the only abuse that really matters would be them killing you? Neither seem very likely.

[BrowneIssue]

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Organ-Donation/

Only 4075 votes for this.....

Why haven't some of the more popular petitions been recognised and acted upon??

<sigh>

Because the petition web site is the government equivalent of a "customer service call centre" or the complaints forms they give out on trains. It is an "elector pacifier".

They do not, never have and never will take any notice of what people put on there.

It is just a pacifier to shut people up.

They are not listening.

[shaunbhoy]

Sorry Shaun, but you have no right to take the moral high ground or judge.

On the contrary, I have every right because I regularly give blood, I carry a donor card and would happily sign up to the new system. If I am thus prepared to donate my organs and my body juices (fnarr fnarr!) then I have a perfect right to judge those too selfish to reciprocate. It is a bit like taking a pop at someone that does not buy his rounds in the pub.

Lots have people have reasons not to want to donate.

Yes, but not terribly convincing ones if you exclude the "I am a selfish barsteward" option. And I would be willing to bet those reasons would evaporate if they were sitting by their childrens' hospital bedside awaiting a suitable organ donor at some point in the future too.

It should be my choice.

It still IS your choice. You simply need to opt out. Under the new system there will be no shortage of organs, they will not be hovering over you like Burke and Hare. Stop being so paranoid.

Sorry, but current voluntary system is best. If you want to bang the drum then get out there and persuade people to become donors.

Sorry, but current voluntary system does not work due to the apathetic nature of the masses. And I am trying to persuade people to become donors on here. With varying success it might be said. Too many ostriches

[oracleslave]

I agree (to some extent) with shaunbhoy.

[Ardesco]

I am already signed up to a donor database and I don't agree with Shaunbhoy.

What needs to be done is the existing donor database made more visible so that people can sign up easily. Do a google for uk donor database and you don't find anything useful, this is a big part of the problem.

Currently people that want to be on the database don't know how to get on it, all this new idea is going to do is leave a bunch of people on it who don't want to be, but don't know how to get off......