[Closed] organ donation - are you registered?

They can have everything but my eyes.

Donate my organs?!?! Over my dead body!

I'm not sure if it's been changed but it used to be that regardless of being registered or not they still have to ask your next of kin if they can use your organs for transplant.

I am registered and all my family understand that I wish to donate any/all of my organs in the event of them being useful to someone after my death , after all I won't need them anymore and if they can give another person the chance of a better life why not?

Yes.

I have also been at the sharp end of losing a close relative in tragic circs and going through the discussions with the family , some of whom didnt want to donate her organs even though she was registered.

The question is - would you take an organ if you needed it? If it is yes you should register.

And yes they do have to get consent of next of kin before donation as i found out last year

Yep,no reason not to far as I can see. As has been said they'll be no use to me and I think if they're all usable then you could change over 20 peoples lives when you're done. Just make sure you inform your next of kin.

[b]DONOR!!!![/b]

ffs 😡

Me? With my non helmet wearing? Of course I am. 🙂

There are some ungrateful people out there!

I regularly offer to donate one of my organs to young ladies in the pub but their lack of gratitude is apalling! 🙄

Can have what they want then chuck the rest as far as I'm concerned.

I want to put my organ in cider

Everything including my eyes. Anything else is just sentimentality. Having said that though, I'm not sure I'd be in favour of compulsory donation.

I'm an Organ Donna.

In the event of my death, the local kebab shop may harvest my organs, to be ground up for a new "elephant leg". Though I have ticked the "No Salad" option.

I heard that in order to recycle some of your organs they have to harvest them before you're actually dead.

Yeah.

Been registered since I was 16. The way I see it, when I pop my clogs there are 3 possible outcomes for my organs:

1. Worm food
2. BBQ
3. Helping someone else live/have a better quality of life.

It never seemed like a difficult decision for me.

I think the main concerns for those who dont are:

Religion
Distress to others in family
Organs going to murderers etc
Doctors putting in less effort to save you (from a coma etc) if they think that you can help the sprog in the next ward etc.

I'm sure different people put them in different orders.

I'm in favour of an opt-out system, it makes far more sense. If you're that attached to your organs you should carry something to say so, otherwise you help others.

I'm not registered, but my family know I would donate - I wonder how that works if the time came? Do they ask anyway?

I regularly offer to donate one of my organs to young ladies in the pub but their lack of gratitude is apalling!

I guess they're after an organ that will actually imporve their quality of life. 😆

Im registered too, I see it as they are no use to me when im gone so they might as well help someone. Also registered as a bone marrow donar too.

bone marrow [b]donar[/b]

ooh thanks for reminding me.

[url] https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ukt/RegistrationForm.do [/url]

edit: Blimey, that was easy and quick. Go on people, do it. You won't need your bits once you're dead. Neither will your family so give 'em a kicking and make sure they know what you want. Tie it into your will if you think any of them will go religious on you and try and stop the process.

Yup, no reason not to.

coffeeking - get signed up, much less hassle all round if you do. Time's of the essence with organ donation, and if you're not registered, your family can object and the donation won't happen.

"Doctors putting in less effort to save you (from a coma etc) if they think that you can help the sprog in the next ward etc"

utter shite, theres more to it than whipping yours out and puting it in the guy next door. that's an insult to my profession
In brain death brainstem testing has to be carried out before organ donation can proceed, and the family can always ask for 3rd and 4th testing etc.

nick - sure it's an insult, but you can't blame people for thinking it. And brainstem testing only really factors in at the end, if you're noted as a donor beforehand people may fear less effort would be put in to prevent you from getting to a brain dead situation. I'm well aware there's more to it than that, but these are the genuine fears of people I've spoken to about it. I blame Holby! 😀

Time's of the essence with organ donation, and if you're not registered, your family can object and the donation won't happen.

Though they can object anyway (which seems very wrong).

[i]"Doctors putting in less effort to save you (from a coma etc) if they think that you can help the sprog in the next ward etc"[/i]

Even if it were true, is it such a terrible thing?

They can have everything but my eyes.

I am registered (plastic card only - must do it online too) and all my family know of my wishes. Medical science is welcome to anything they find useful.

EDIT: Registered online - that was so easy.

(Waits for the knock on the door 'we've come for your kidney' - a la Monty Python). 🙂

Donor card since 13 (still have it somewhere, don't feel the need to carry it), and ticked the box to be put on the register when I got my provisional licence at 17.

Next of kin all know my wishes too - I really won't care what happens to my body after I'm dead so any benefit it can bring is a good thing.

[i]"Doctors putting in less effort to save you (from a coma etc) if they think that you can help the sprog in the next ward etc"[/i]

I'm offended by this too.

Organ donation goes ahead in two circumstances;

1. Heart beating donation; this is when you have been declared brain-dead by two seperate brain-stem death tests. Just to spell this out a bit more; that's when your brain no longer works to control your basic body functions like breathing. Causes of this state can be massive head trauma or major cerebral bleeding.

In other words, you are dead, but your heart is still pumping blood around your body.

2. Non-heart beating donation; this is rather newer, but essentially involves waiting for you to die, then taking you to theatre quickly to allow organ donation.

In neither case is there any attempt made to 'hurry things along', and no attempt made to provide less care because you may be a potential donor.

In many ways, it's far easier for everyone if you are not a donor; it's a major undertaking, and a difficult, stressful ballache to go through the whole setup, but it's worth it because it helps to [b][u]save other peoples lives.[/u][/b]

Yeah, I'm registered. And I've mentioned it to Mrs PP too. SOmthing along the lines of "If they can use any of me after I'm dead and you don't let them, I'm coming back to haunt you." 🙂

ck - they can still object, but "legally" your organs can still be taken (if you've registered).

[i]ck - they can still object, but "legally" your organs can still be taken (if you've registered). [/i]

In practice this never actually happens; the key point in organ donation is gaining permission from the next of kin, and that's the bit that has to be done carefully, compassionately and sensibly.

Even if it were true, is it such a terrible thing?

Yes, unless you're going to start deciding who is more worthy.

In neither case is there any attempt made to 'hurry things along', and no attempt made to provide less care because you may be a potential donor.

Of course not, and I'd hope not! But then you're going to say that. (playing devils advocate, I'm on your side really).

But you really shouldn't be offended/insulted I suppose, you'd be prioritising the use of the organs - person A is dying and unlikely to survive, person B needs it and has a good chance of survival - makes sense to prioritise those who have more hope. But maybe not a moral judgement. Medical docs fall into a strange quandry of needing to follow logic and probabilities but also having to account for everyones right to a chance to pull through.

I know crikey, hence the "". I just think it's better to be signed up, and make it absolutely clear to your NOK that it's what you want.

[i]Medical docs fall into a strange quandry of needing to follow logic and probabilities but also having to account for everyones right to a chance to pull through[/i]

This is one of the reasons that the care of potential donors and the actual donation/transplant are totally seperate.

The care of the patient in hospital is done by the hospital team. If the condition of the patient is such that organ donation may be a possible outcome, we call in the transplant co-ordinator; a seperate person from outside the hospital.

Once brain stem testing is done, and this would be done anyway, regardless of the donation issue, then the transplant team become involved, but ONLY WITH THE CONSENT OF THE NEXT-OF-KIN.

This means that there is less likelyhood of any conflict of interest, and should help to reduce the fear of one team killing folk off to get to their organs.

If you have an organ donation you CANNOT give blood or donate your own organs. I used to be a registered Donor and give blood up until the point of my transplant.
To the person I will never know I thank you for your gift.

But I want to be a zombie when I'm dead. Always wanted to get a job as an extra on one of those undead movies. 🙂

...further reassurance; there is no financial or other inducement or bonus given to any hospital ward or organisation resulting from organ donation.

Nothing.

There is a move towards paying hospitals for the staff time involved in the donation procedure, but this is only a way of covering the cost of the time taken up when we get involved in a donation. It is not an actual payment that ends up in anyones pocket.

I would quite happily be a beating heart donor. I have no issue with that whatsoever.

My girlfriends nephew wanted to be a donor. he had a massive cerebral haemorrhage and was brain dead on a ventilator at the age of 35.

After discussions with the family and brain death proven his ventilator was turned off. It took 16 hrs for his heart to stop beating - by which time the transplant team where no longer there and the organs were ruined and wasted.

It would have been much better if he had been taken as a beating heart donor.

The human body is worth lots of cash.

The obvious solution is to allow people to (pre)sell their body leaving the cash in their will or allowing the next-of-kin to sell the parts.

Hmmmm. Except that a proportion of donation procedures don't result in actual transplants for a variety of reasons.
Just because you donate doesn't mean you become a donor.

That's why we need to increase the number of donors; to increase the chances of a successful transplant.

Not registered as I didn't think it made a difference.

Everyone knows that they can have any part of me they want. I would prefer they waited until I was neary dead before taking the life affcting ones though.

Can someone give me the correct answer about registering - does it matter or is it still down to my traumatised wife to make the decision after I have done my nextr bit of electricing?

After discussions with the family and brain death proven his ventilator was turned off. It took 16 hrs for his heart to stop beating - by which time the transplant team where no longer there and the organs were ruined and wasted.

Forgive my lack of knowledge on the subject, but I was under the impression that brain death (tested by the brainstem tests) was effectively the point at which the body could not support itself (i.e. things like breathing would stop immediately as the ventillator was doing it for him). Suggesting the body lived on for 16 hours may suggest he was not brain dead, unless it is the case where some sections can die off and others remain active, in which case how is that identified and at what point does the person get classified as no longer a living person? If the brainstem tests are there to prove the person is no longer functioning, how does a person continue to function (even badly) for 16 hours?

TJ, yes, non-beating heart donation is difficult and less effective, but until the number of donors goes up, it's one way of increasing the rate of donation.

tandem jeremy you are absolutely right

My sis inlaw had a brain haemorrhage during childbirth but her organs were donated to at least 6-7 people

from what i recall lungs went to a cystic fibrosis kid, liver to a woman in scotland, 2 kidney recipients, Heart valves taken also, and skin taken for burns victims.

i think that's a pretty amazing outcome for such a tragedy up to 6 lives transformed.

and the transplant coordinating nurse was amazing. That has got to be one of the toughest jobs- approaching bereft families re organ donation. I recall how hard it was to broach in A+E from time to time. essentially her job is moving from tragedy to tragedy for the good of others.

Not registered as I didn't think it made a difference.

Everyone knows that they can have any part of me they want. I would prefer they waited until I was neary dead before taking the life affcting ones though.

Can someone give me the correct answer about registering - does it matter or is it still down to my traumatised wife to make the decision after I have done my nextr bit of electricing?