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For me personally, I have a very hard time understanding why anyone would NOT be an organ donor. I mean, to each their own, but it just seems kind of selfish to have the mindset that you wouldn’t want your organs helping someone else AFTER YOU DIE.
But people out there feel strongly about this.
Here’s what one person had to say about this controversial topic.
If you don’t want to donate your organs after you die; you shouldn’t be allowed to receive donated organs.
byu/2martin4u inunpopularopinion
And here’s what folks on Reddit had to say about this person’s opinion.
1. Here’s the deal.
“Medical student currently on transplant surgery here. Just to shed a little light on a few logistical details:
The transplant evaluation process for each organ is obviously quite involved, and while its mainly infectious diseases and target organ damage that absolutely rule someone out as an organ donor, there are often other issues at play.
The kind of patients with the often chronic disease processes requiring organ transplantation will often have comorbid damage to other organs, or will not be healthy enough that they could be eligible as organ donors.
So, for example, someone who’s required a kidney transplant previously will likely never be healthy enough to be a living or cadaveric liver donor in the future. However, even people with major organ damage can often donate their corneas, skin, etc.
The ethnical issues of donation and care are something that transplant surgeons and all medical professionals should take very seriously. To that end, in the US at least the transplant surgery team cannot be involved in the care of a potential donor prior to a declaration of brain death.
Once again, the exam to determine brain death (and therefore, legal death) must be performed by an MD who does not have a stake in the transplant process (not the transplant surgeon, not taking care of the potential recipient, etc). Obviously it’s not perfect, but these systems help to ensure that we are treating our patients according to the standard of care until their dying moment.
Finally, kind of a duh, but I cannot emphasize enough the good that is done by an organ donation. It’s truly remarkable- you put an organ into a critically ill patient, and bam, things are often instantly better.
My patient today hadn’t made urine in 8 years due to chronic kidney disease; 10 minutes after we put in the donor kidney, he was making urine and on the road to filtering appropriately without the need for dialysis!”
2. Is this true?
“My dad says he won’t put organ donor on his license because according to what he’s heard, when your organs are put in someone else’s body, your family are the ones who are billed for the procedure.
Also that if doctors/EMT’s know that you’re an organ donor, they will purposefully let you die so they can get paid for harvesting your organs (I think that’s a BS conspiracy lol).
But have you ever come across an organ donor’s family being billed for the receiving patient’s transplant procedure? I mean that sounds ridiculous but private insurance can be a real b*tch sometimes and want to know if something like that has actually ever happened.”
3. Maybe?
“To be honest, a religious person who doesn’t believe in donating organs would also not want to receive organs…”
4. Out on display.
“I think a lot of people are unaware of how the process works.
But most people do not want to be donated “to science” and become a cadaver to be used in a lab for med students to practice their stitching techniques on kinda thing.”
5. Corruption?
“I wouldn’t mind this but organ donation scares me. Too many stories out there of rich people who need organs and corrupt hospitals.
Then you look at people like Rockefeller who got a new heart 7 times with the snap of a finger…sounds too fishy to me…”
6. Am I selfish?
“I’m really losing braincells reading the comments of this thread… Almost everyone (80%+ of comments) seems to agree with you, that it’s indeed selfish.
I for one am not so sure if I’d like to have my organs removed once I’m “declared dead” and though extremely rare, still able to come back to life. I don’t think I’ll have the same odds of coming back to life if my organs are harvested (which usually happens fairly quickly after your “death” to make sure they don’t degrade too much.
Now if my head is crushed under a ten-ton steel cube and you want a kidney? Yeah, go ahead.
But if my heart seems to have suddenly stopped and the medi-folks declared me dead, I don’t want ya’ll to be taking my organs…
Is that selfish? I don’t know… Perhaps?”
7. Not a good rule.
“Though this seems fair, and it definitely is selfish by those who do not want to donate, I dont think this rule is good. I would definitely donate my organs after death. To anyone.
It is not up to me to decide who hets to live, regardless of whatever that person thinks, or what values they have. Refusing to give certain people organs makes you just as bad as giving none of your organs. I decided to give my organs voluntarily. To anyone who needs it.
Its not my call to say who deserves it. I do feel angry at people who wont donate for religious reasons, but take donations, but this is not what matters. If you sign up to be a donor, you dont get to make a decision on who gets your organs.
If we were to implement a system of who deserves to get a donation that is NOT based on medical necessity, we are gonna end up with some sort of discrimination. Also, doctors make an oath to help anyone who needs treatment.
They cannot and must not break that oath, because their patient doesn’t hold the same values as them.”
8. Maybe a little bit paranoid?
“The only reason I don’t want to donate organs is, that I think I could still live and that I will be killed to help other people.
I don’t want that. I heard stories where people came back to live when everybody thought he/she was dead.”
9. Different reasons.
“Some people don’t want to be put on the list for religious regions. They already can’t accept donated organs for the same reason so for them it’s neutral.
Other people have their own reasons and I don’t begrudge them for it. I’m sure if I heard them I’d probably find most of them reasonable. For some people it’s just a matter of personal preference and they think that people who are willing to give them up are foolish.
Selfish? Well, yes but not entirely illogical either. More cut-throat.”
10. Disagree.
“Hard disagree.
A person’s view of ethics and what their comfortable with as a corpse is a separate issue to their medical well being.”
11. I didn’t know that.
“Most people don’t know this, but you actually have a very low chance of your organs being donated.
I can’t remember the specifics, but you can’t have certain diseases, and you have to officially die in the hospital a certain way.”
12. Don’t get it.
“I admit I don’t get it when family members try to prevent organ donation or when it is time to pull the plug. I remember watching an episode, I forgot what the series was called. It was about the mother refusing to let her young son’s organs be donated and because of that a kid with a real bad heart condition also died.
I’m dead, so what is the point in leaving my organs in me when others are still alive and need an organ to stay alive? I don’t need them when I go to the gates of paradise.
Hell, tie my dead body to a chandelier, I don’t care. I try to donate blood when I can because I put myself in someone else’s shoes. Would I want someone to save me? Of course I would! So I should do the same, that’s my logic.
My dad wanted to donate but can’t because he had hepatitis C and metastatic lung cancer from his years of smoking.”
13. In Singapore.
“I believe Singapore has a system like this.
If you opt out being a donor and you need an organ at some point, then you’re put at the bottom of the wait list.”
What do you think about this?
Are YOU an organ donor?
Talk to us in the comments and tell us how you feel! Thanks!
