It's easy to forget the question after all this discussion. The question is:

For those of you are *not willing* to give your organs, what is your reasoning behind not being a registered organ donor?

...lol, so you still haven't answered the question, and can't because you would be a donor if you could. XD

Lol, triple post:



Hear that everyone? If you believe in being a organ donor, sign-up for being a bone marrow donor as well!

Thanks for mentioning this, Suzin.

and...bump

Can a person donate even if they're not healthy or have bad eyesight?

Depends on age, health history, conditions of organs or tissues.
Its the bones and tendons that get recovered outside of the OR. and where the theft and mis-appropriations of tissues happen.
Bad eyes wouldn't prevent you from donting bone for example.

Unless you have some serious auto-immune disease (like Lupus perhaps), they can probably find something that can be used. Ask your doctor about it, because only he knows about your specific case.

Save a life today - sign-up as an organ donor; sign-up as a bone marrow donor!

Smoker?

Brilliant!

I know that if you are a smoker then you're not a candidate for transplant

No, I think you can transplant even if you are a smoker, as long as there is no serious damage to the kidneys.

I read on this kidney donation site that if you want to donate, you just have to stop smoking for several months beforehand.

And even if you're a smoker, probably your bone marrow and other things are still good.

If you're concerned about being an organ donor, try to register or look online. Whatever illnesses or contraindications you may have, there still might be *something* that could be used to save a life.

You can become an organ donor by (in most states, if not all) by simply checking the box on your drivers license. Should it come to that, the medical team will thorougly test and check your organs to ensure they are viable for transplant. So, as long as you don't have certain diseases or are currently on chemo, there are many ways you can donate upon your death. If for whatever reason your organs aren't viable, they simply won't use you.

Sorry, I misunderstood or misread your original question. I thought it was if you weren't an organ donor, why not? Not if you were unwilling.

i thought this article might be of interest. it's a proposal by the democratic party for the province ontario:

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/07/29/organ-transplant.html?ref=rss

i haven't heard much talk about it recently; however, it would require the onus to be put on the person to indicate that they are NOT willing to be a donor.

so if you're in a car wreck, or on a hospital bed, and there's no card indicating such, they take what they want/need from you.

interesting concept, as i'm sure there'd be a lot more willing people who are just too absentminded and/or who procrastinate about completing a card or their licence.

I am an organ donor myself. The procedural problem with organ donation is that even if a person receives an organ transplant, they need to go on what essentially amounts to an arsenal of drugs that effectively suppress the immune system of the recipient. This must be done otherwise the donor organ will be seen as an "invader" and the immune system will attack and destroy it.

Immune suppression therapy only serves to prolong the recipients life but the drugs themselves will eventually destroy the function of the transplanted organ.

You are buying time.

We need embryonic stem cell research in order to actually grow transplant organs from the recipients own body. This will alleviate the need for these powerful immune suppression drugs.

which, i'm assuming, may or may not be covered - even under private health care plans - in the united states?

I dont know about that. I am not a recipient of an organ. I would guess some plans cover it, at least partially. Generally they will cover the surgery itself. You get what you pay for here. I do know that the drugs are expensive and there are several. They constantly change them based on what is occurring with the recipient's health. A friend of mine had to have a lung transplant. He is on many drug therapies. I never asked him how he finances all of this however as I figured I shouldn't. You are not to miss even one dosage as long as the transplanted organ is functioning. I do know that.

My cousin had a kidney transplant almost 15 years ago, he's doing quite well. In some cases, yes, an organ will only buy you time but in a lot of cases, it gives you a LOT of time and as the procedure/drugs are refined, it can give you almost a normal lifespan, if not a normal lifespan altogether.

I know that if your insurance covers the transplant itself, it is required to cover the drugs required to maintain the transplant. These are usually covered under your medical policy and not your prescription policy. Also, many drug companies will provide the drugs free or at a greatly reduced cost if you lose your insurance or they are otherwise uncovered.

You will be on the maintenance drugs for the rest of your life, the dosages may vary but generally, they try to reduce the amounts you take to very minimal levels.

And I agree, Krimsa, embryionic stem cell research is greatly needed. It made me positively ill (and still does) that it is basically outlawed in the U.S., except under certain, very stringent conditions.

Yes you are right. I didnt want to imply that transplants are terrible or a waste of time, far from it. Kidney has the highest success rate overall. However, the immune suppression therapy is very destructive. It also increases the risk of certain cancers in the recipient. Its not problem free. That is the point I was making. It is not a "cure" either. It prolongs life. Ideally we really need to actually "grow" new organs utilizing the recipients own tissues. Its been done successfully with a woman in South America. She was grown a "windpipe" and was fine the last I heard and she does not require the use of immune suppression medications.

Its a matter of time (and research) before kidneys, pancreas (for diabetics) can be grown in much the same manner.

when i die the only 2 organs i will be donating are my brain because it will benefit humanity and my penis in the hopes that it will have more fun the second time around be seeing you

Oh, I know what you meant And you are right, the drugs do suck. I almost had a bone marrow transplant 12 years ago and would probably be dead by now if I had, because of the drugs. Turns out I didn't have a donor which devastated me at the time but it turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise.