Does anyone choose not to be an organ donor when they die? If so, why not?
Self-explanatory question.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
72 Answers
Sure. It is against some religions. Some people worry they need all those things in the afterlife. Some people simply feel odd about having parts of them cut out and/or in other people.
I’m happy to have them harvest any part of me that can help anyone, but I suspect many of my parts will simply be too warn out to be of use.
Of course they choose. It is their personal choice and it is as simple as that.
I’m not. I don’t feel comfortable with it. Plus, other people get everything else I have when I die – my body is mine and mine alone.
@blueiiznh It would seem to me better if everyone had a reason for making any conscious decision.
I can see someone just generally feeling uncomfortable with the thought of their innards being scooped out when they’re dead, to continue ambling about the world in other bodies.
There are urban legends about people being gutted prematurely in a mad lust for organs, part of a nasty kind of black market traffic.
I figure that I’m not going to need ‘em much anymore.
@jasonwiese55 I am sure they do. As stated, it is a personal choice they don’t have to share with anyone.
@jasonwiese55 Personal decision doesn’t mean they don’t have a reason, it means they don’t share it with people.
@MyNewtBoobs It isn’t yours anymore when you die. That’s the point. If you can’t control it/use it, then how can you claim ownership?
@Nullo I can understand the argument that a doctor might not provide the best treatment when she or he might want the organs in her or his patient’s body, but I don’t see how the black market should affect what one tells the legitimate authorities about what his or her wishes are regarding organ donation. The black market folks are not likely to care whether or not there is a heart symbol on your driver’s license.
I’d love to hear those reasons, @MyNewtBoobs, hence this question.
@jasonwiese55 but it is yours still when you die and without documented consent can not be taken.
@jasonwiese55 I answered your question. That does not mean my beliefs are up for debate. I would disagree with your statement, but either way, it’s not up for discussion. My body, my decision, end of story.
@blueiiznh Says who? If your belongings go to someone else when you die, then why is your body any different? Your body should go to the state unless specified in a will that a loved one will own it.
@MyNewtBoobs A human corpse is not a human. It is the remains of a human just like the World Trade Center rubble was not the World Trade Center. It is just less destroyed. Or maybe more destroyed if you look at it in another sense.
I don’t want to be but that is simply because it sounds creepy. The thought of my body being harvested for parts like I was some used car found on a lot. I understand in the end we are just an empty carcass but it just seems disrespectful to me. However, it is up to my family when I go because I won’t be around to object. If they can’t stomach the idea of be being divided up like a turkey on thanksgiving than it is their call.
Pretty sure the next of kin does decide whether to donate unless the person who died has specifically written down officially they do not want to donate. As soon as the right type of death occurs, the transplant coordinators move in and ask the next of kin to allow them to take the organs.
@jasonwiese55 Do you want to learn other people’s views and beliefs, or do you want to convert everyone to yours?
@Pandora So, because something is creepy to you, you will reject the opportunity to save lives, even though this creepy event is not something you will actually ever experience?
It’s an entirely personal choice. People hold different beliefs which undoubtefly factor into their decision making.
It could be for religious reasons, etc. Each to their own.
To add to my comment, putting that you want to be an organ donor on your drivers license does not serve as permission to take your organs, it is just an indication you prefer it. Your next of kin still has to allow it to happen I am pretty sure.
What is it with people asking a question today just to try and get people to see things their way? The reason why you ask a question like this is to see what other people think. People are entitled to their thoughts and their beliefs and are entitled to state them without being told they’re wrong and try to be convinced otherwise so on. That’s just rude.
A lot of people find even the embalming process creepy. Having your body, which is yours to dispose of as you will, cut up or not is your decision. Sure, organ donation saves lives. But many people see this as desecrating a body, theirs or a family member’s. They have every right to feel this way and every right to refuse to donate. If it wasn’t their decision, and if they didn’t have a right to it, it would be mandatory. It isn’t and won’t be. When it comes down to it, its a personal choice whatever the reason and no one should sit there and condemn other people for their choice in this matter. Especially if they have never faced that kind of decision.
@stardust I strongly disagree with the “Each to their own” mentality when they are running the risk of letting someone else die for no other reason than that they think post-mortem surgery is icky. The religious reasons are a little bit better if you believe those, but as I have made clear elsewhere, I do not think that religion is a good basis of moral reasoning.
@jasonwiese55 In the end I don’t get to decide anything. My family gets to decide. The only thing I ask is that they not give away my eyes and skin. The organs doesn’t really matter to me. I just really don’t want to be fillet for parts.
But yes, creepy is creepy to me. Plus on some level I like to think we deserve a little better than to be chopped up for parts. Yes, I am dead in this case but I was once a real live person. I don’t want the last memories of me to be just my parts. Like, oops she’s gone, lets see what we can salvage out of this wreck. Just creepy.
@jasonwiese55 Well, then thank God you aren’t The Decider of all things post-mortem.
@MyNewtBoobs Oh my, yes. If it were up to me, everyone would be plastinated and made into marionettes to dance for our viewing pleasure.
@jasonwiese55 The fear is that if your driver’s license has the little tick mark on the back, you would (in the event that you were to find yourself unconscious in the hospital) be allowed to die so that your organs could be harvested.
@jasonwiese55 Just because YOU don’t think “religion is a good basis of moral reasoning” doesn’t mean that other people aren’t entitled to their beliefs. The word of the day appears to be “childish.” It is an extremely childish idea that everyone should be required to think like you think, no matter what.
@jasonwiese55 Some people do take things with them. I think I will bury my husband with his favorite pillow. He says he wants to be buried in his Porsche. LOL. Gawd, his car hobby costs me a fortune in life and it will in death. Can you imagine paying to have a Porsche buried? Back in the days of pharaoh it was common to have material things entombed with the dead for the afterlife. People can do whatever they want with their body and possessions.
@Nullo That is a legitimate concern, but none of the donor-deniers here have cited that as a reason. So far it has just been: “It is creepy, and it is my body. I’ll do what I want with my body.” Coincidentally, the same argument is used by slutty teenagers who go on the Maury show to be rehabilitated by boot camp instructors. “It’s my body, Maury! I’ll sleep with whoever I want!”
Also, I am not sure if it any doctor has ever let someone die for his or her organs. Maybe so, maybe not, but I wouldn’t rule it out.
@Nullo, GA. My husband recently went on line to renew my DL. and he put me down as an organ donor. I told him, thanks for signing my death certificate. :(
One little coma that I may come out of and before they know it, people are pulling plugs and giving my parts away. Why, because I’m a pretty fresh donor with good parts.
@jasonwiese55 and of course, you are entitled to your opinion just as everyone else is! It is not up to I or you, or anyone else to decide what a person should do with their body parts once they’ve died.
Why ask a question when clearly not open to the responses of others? Hmm
They don’t pull the plug faster.
@jasonwiese55 In response to @Nullo. Bad example. Teenagers who are endangering their lives is not the same. Having random sex can end up with them having diseases like AIDs later on. Your not endangering your life but a persons dying wish should be respected.
@Pandora I know. I’m just an asshole, and I thought it was a funny comparison.
@jasonwiese55 I am listing reasons that I have heard in my travels, trying not to repeat other people too much.
I wonder how many people who consider organ donation “creepy” or “disrespectful” have any idea of just how many people are dying every year because of the lack of donated organs?
The Mayo Clinic says 19 people every single day.
Organ donation is a selfless and thoughtful gift. What’s disrespectful is letting people die who could otherwise be saved. You’re dead. Your organs are of no use to you. You aren’t going to ever see or know about the process of harvesting them. Why in the world would “it’s creepy” ever be considered a valid excuse?
@JLeslie We don’t know that. Say a doctor who does liver transplants has a patient who he sees regularly. He sees the pain his patient is in regularly, and the pain his family is going through, watching him suffer. Then here I am. I signed a donor card and my blood type matches this person. And his patient doesn’t have long to live without a liver. I was in an accident and my chances are 70/30 that I won’t make it. The patient can’t wait for me to die on my own. I have brain swelling and they aren’t sure if I will make it but they are sure he will die if he doesn’t get my liver. Whats to say they don’t convince my family that its better for them to harvest my organs and save someone elses life? And convince them and themselves that this is for the best because they have an attachment to this other family and not mine? Not saying they will do it on purpose. They are being practical. But what if they where wrong and now my family traded my life for this other person. Then down the road. The liver never took. Donations don’t come with guarantees. Now we are both dead.
@Pandora
Nice story…but do you have any actual evidence at all that it ever happens?
@crisw Because in the end, it is my body and how I feel about it. That is why creepy would be valid.
@crisw I do consider it. And in the end, it’s not my responsibility to save anyone else. And really, why would you want me to donate organs if I wasn’t really comfortable with it?
Some more real info from the Mayo Clinic :
Myth: If I agree to donate my organs, the hospital staff won’t work as hard to save my life.
Fact: When you go to the hospital for treatment, doctors focus on saving your life — not somebody else’s. You’ll be seen by a doctor whose specialty most closely matches your particular emergency. The doctor in charge of your care has nothing to do with transplantation.
Myth: Maybe I won’t really be dead when they sign my death certificate.
Fact: Although it’s a popular topic in the tabloids, in reality, people don’t start to wiggle their toes after they’re declared dead. In fact, people who have agreed to organ donation are given more tests (at no charge to their families) to determine that they’re truly dead than are those who haven’t agreed to organ donation.
@crisw Who needs evidence when you can have the peace of mind that when you die, you will not experience not having your organs harvested? Because either way, you won’t experience anything.
@crisw No proof, but you can’t say that human emotions don’t play a role in health care. Doctors become doctors because they want to save lives. Its great if they can keep their objectivity all the time but they are human too. And emotions do get in the way sometimes. Why don’t you prove to me they never get in the way.
@Pandora “You’ll be seen by a doctor whose specialty most closely matches your particular emergency. The doctor in charge of your care has nothing to do with transplantation.”
@Pandora
It’s up to the person making a claim to prove that claim. I have given what I think is some pretty good evidence why it doesn’t happen- it simply isn’t the way the medical system works; transplant physicians aren’t in the emergency room or the ICU making decisions on your care.
@Pandora Donated organs go to the person with the greatest need that the organ can reach before it goes bad. Not just the person with the least geographical distance. It is extremely unlikely that a person at the same hospital would get any organ donated.
@Pandora Transplants are coordinated on a national registry. The chance of someone dying in the very hospital of the person next on the list is not likely. Kidney coordinators work on call, and fly all hours to move vital organs to the part of the country where the patient is. If a person dies, and is on life support, the next of kin decides if the organs will be donated, unless there is some sort of legal directive. Anyway, any doctor would want to save the life of the patient in front of them if possible in my opinion. But, if you feel unsure I respect that. I have no problem with people who prefer to not risk the possibility. I have no problem with people who do not donate. Personal choice.
@crisw So lets say I sign this donor card, are you telling me they don’t look to see if I would be a match to anyone who is under the care of the hospital? Sure its not the same doctors, but they don’t talk or let each other know of potential donors? The doctor is just notified out of the blue? I know of someone who is waiting for a transplant. His wife says she practically knows everyone in the hospital they have gone their so much. Several times he was told to come in because they may have a potential donor. Whats to say that some of those times they didn’t jump the gun and the person just happened to survive?
@Pandora Just don’t ride a motorcycle, and you’ll be fine. Doctors refer to bikers as “organ-donors.”
@JLeslie thanks
@jasonwiese55 You’ll never catch me doing that. Jet skied at 35 mph on choppy water and scared myself and had to slow down to 20 and that is over water. I’m a real careful driver too but I certainly can’t say the other jerks on the road won’t take me out. :(
@Pandora Again, it doesn’t work that way. The odds of a recipient being in the same hospital are minuscule.
@JLeslie Karma’s gonna get you! ;D
How can anyone be pro-choice, then give someone else a hard time because of what they choose to do with their own body?
@jonsblond I don’t know to whom you are referring, but I like the sentiment. However the dispute is over whether a corpse is own’s own body.
@jonsblond Ok, before I just lurved you. Now I just have a giant jelly-crush on you.
I’ve been an organ donor since I first got my driver’s license at 19. Now, over 20 years later, I’m much more likely to be on the other side of the coin and need an organ transplant (I have kidney disease.)
I honestly don’t understand the resistance to being a donor, but it’s not my place to judge anyone for their choice. Certainly, browbeating people isn’t the way to increase the number of folks willing to donate. I think the best thing one can do is educate people (in general), and hope for the best.
In another thread, Jeruba summed it up quite eloquently and simply:
“This presumes that there should even be a supply, that there’s some sort of right to expect organs to be available on demand. The idea is outrageous to me. If an organ exists at a time of need, that is a great blessing, but the dead are not a supermarket for the living.”
The emphases are mine
By the way, a lot of people who die and have organ donation on their licenses aren’t eligible for donating. If they’re anything other than perfectly healthy, odds are that their organs aren’t going anywhere.
For example, nobody’d want @augustlan‘s kidneys. And odds are that her kidney problem has affected other organs and systems. This is the case for a lot of people with a lot of different things.
Exactly what @klutzaroo said. That is why motorcycles are called donorcycles, death by accident not illness, and many times someone who is fairly young.
@jonsblond
“How can anyone be pro-choice, then give someone else a hard time because of what they choose to do with their own body?”
Obviously, what happens to a living human being matters to that person, and that’s why, ethically, we can’t just do what we want to people (in a nutshell.)
A dead body has no wants or desires and cannot be “harmed” in any meaningful way. So, actually, the rationale for discouraging illogical thoughts about organ donation is very similar to the rationale for allowing abortion. In both cases, no harm is done to any sentient being who cares what is done to it.
I can totally understand that a living human has ultimate control over his or her possessions, and cannot be required to give. But I cannot understand why a dead body should have any such rights.
@crisw So let’s just dump dead bodies into a garbage heap.
The thing is, in most cultures there is a care about what happens to dead bodies. The body is laid to “rest,” or given a “proper burial,” or buried according to pick a religion law.
@JLeslie
I don’t deny those things exist; my point is that none of it matters to the actual dead individual. Those ceremonies are for the living, not the dead themselves.
And traditions can change. In the case of organ donation, they should.
If we work on the premise that a dead body has no rights, and is no longer owned by the dead person (because of their obvious dead-itude), let’s also include the premise (supported in many arguments above and elsewhere) that when the person was alive they owned their body. Thus it would follow that the dead mass of meat would belong to the heirs, and therefore subject to the wishes of those heirs, to donate or not as they wish. The ethics would then be up to the heirs, and if donation violates their personal or religious tenets then those tenets should be respected.
@crisw I agree memorial services and how loved ones are laid to rest matter for the living, but it matters for the dead to for some people. An orthodox Jewish person would care their body was laid to rest according to Jewish law. It is the final observant thing they will do. I know people who feel strongly they don’t want to buried underground. I know people who want to be creamated and in a columnarium (is that the right term?) at the church, i know people who do not want their bodies dissected, I know people who want their odies given to science. The individual should get to choose, even in death. IMHO.
@JilltheTooth That is basically how the law works now from how I understand it.
Fabulous question, interesting discussion, thanks Fluther!
I’d say it’s all about whether you really believe your body is yours after death and whether you believe you or the state should have ownership of your remains. I’ve been back and forth on this matter. It’s a nice sentiment to think that one has control over one’s body in death but that is only for the privileged who know laws or have family. I don’t care too much for sentiment and yet I’m not an organ donor because I have a fear that @Nullo initially mentioned even though I know the rebuttals. So I’m irrational in this case. I hope to eventually become an organ donor and get out of my head. I don’t think I have ownership of my body when I die but I don’t think anyone else has either. I also don’t have an attachment to this body so no creepiness factor.
Answer this question 
