I live in Austria where every person is an organ donor and you have to opt-out of it. Even children are donors if their parents don’t opt them out. As a result, more than 99% of Austrians are organ donors. It never occurred to me that it could be the other way around.
I know it’s irrational, but there is a tiny voice in the back of my head going “what if the ancient Egyptians were right, and you’ll need your liver or eyes or whatever in the afterlife?” even though currently right now living and breathing I couldn’t tell you what my liver does for me other than I need it to stay living.
Organ donation just makes sense. If my organs can help someone else after I’m done with them then why not? What doesn’t make sense is that in states/places where abortion isn’t legal, corpses have more bodily autonomy than pregnant women
I live in Austria where every person is an organ donor and you have to opt-out of it. Even children are donors if their parents don’t opt them out. As a result, more than 99% of Austrians are organ donors. It never occurred to me that it could be the other way around.
Having a system like this is good, because “the other way around” does feasibly have room for them to ‘give up on you’ and harvest your organs. But living in a place where 99% of people will donate organs means there’s no room for this doubt.
If you raid my colony, your left kidney, right lung, and liver are mine. One Lemmings opinion.
Joke’s on you. I’m on dialysis because of my failed kidneys, I have fluid in my partially collapsed lungs, and… well… actually, my liver is alright for now, so I guess that might not be too bad for ya.
My take is take what you want. I’ll be dead and will have no need for the organs.
When I’m dead it won’t fucking matter what happens to my body because I’m dead. I won’t be there to care. If my body parts help people then that’s great!
I think that’s great. It’s incredibly selfish to not be an organ donor. The whole, “They will let me die to give my organs to someone important” argument is ludicrous.
They will let me die to give my organs to someone important” argument is ludicrous.
Really depends where you live and how your government treats you.
I don’t think it’s ludicrous on the face of it. That’s basically what happens when an uninsured person dies from something that would have taken $10k to fix and an insured person gets their organs.
Doctors only get in trouble for letting someone die when that person has a medical right to the care that would have saved them. Even then there is leeway because whether someone has a medical right to that care is often something that depends on a doctor’s estimation of the situation, which means other doctors would have to testify against them for them to get in trouble. Which of course they’ll only do if they are sympathetic to the victim or unsympathetic towards the doctor and they know it won’t affect their career prospects too poorly.
So I wouldn’t be surprised if in Austria, ethnically MENA organ donors tended to die more often than ethnically MENA non-organ donors and this gap would be bigger than with ethnically European donors/non-donors (if that gap exists). Not even as some kind of conspiracy or malice aforethought, but as just a little bit of laziness here and there. Hell, not even laziness, just setting your boundaries for once and going home after only 2 hours of overtime instead of 2 hours and 15 minutes while ordering an extra test for that one patient who probably doesn’t even need it.
There is still the question whether you want to deprive someone of your organs for that small statistical increase in risk, if you’re even the sort of demographic that risks being dehumanized. And if you’re worried about malpractice, it’s much better to buddy up with a friend and agree to supervise the doctors and nurses whenever either of you is in the hospital. Most malpractice and medical mistakes are the sort of thing a lay person can catch with some attentiveness and internet searches.
take 'em, i ain’t using 'em anymore!
If I’ve kicked it I don’t see any reason my organs can’t help someone else
Just take it.
Experts generally agree that requiring to people to opt-out significantly increases participation. Most people don’t care either way.
Opt-out is the best way. Greatly increases the supply of available organs but allows people not to participate if they don’t want to.
Opt out seems fair.
You’re dead. You don’t need whatcha got anymore.
I even wonder if the opt out is reasonable. I understand being sad, but “go ahead and die, I want worms to eat my {kid’s, wife’s, husband’s} kidney” is a weird thing to (implicitly) say.
It is as easy as going to any doctor and having it added to your file. No reason, just “I don’t want that”
I think people should be able to decide what happens to their remains after they die. I’m fine with automatic registration and the ability to opt out.
As long as it automatically disqualifies them from ever receiving a transplant.
I would be totally fine with it.
The problem is that it is factually worth a lot of money. Saving a life, either through an organ or by blood donations because they’re needed for surgery, is nearly impossible to evaluate.
And lots of people need stuff that isn’t blood or organs. If I need a car, or place to live and someone in society dies and has a car or a place to live and that’s not being given to me, but instead it’s turned into cash and assets.
That’s asymmetric.
Now I’m not saying I’m entitled that society should just give me everything I want. So I wouldn’t call it “unfair”.
But on the other hand, giving away organs and blood, completely for free, is a bit much.
That’s why I’m against it.
