CrisPDuk

That wasn't the point I was making

My point was, that as the law currently stands it matters not a jot whether you are registered or not, because ultimately the decision is not yours to make

For the record, my own family are all fully aware of my requirements

CrisPDuk

It has just occurred to me. If the current law regarding consent remains, the above situation will reverse if they make donating compulsory, opting out will become no longer your choice

davegtt

Unless I die in an unexpected accident I dont think any of my organs will be fit for use by anyone else by the time Ive finished with this body. I aim to put it through its paces

Leslie

I have nothing against organ transplants and feel that volunteering your own organs after death is a good thing. I do however think that taking this stance by the government is wrong. We should be left with a personal choice what happens to our bodies without any such pressure. Yet another dangerous precedent by decree!

I would not trust this lot any more than the previous bunch of crawling selfseeking creeps anyway.

Les

jonc

So if organ donation is made compulsory, will you have the option to say what you want to donate or is it automatically assumed that you donate your whole body, ie any organs and tissue? Are there assurances that your body will be used for saving a life instead of being donated to medical science to be diced and sliced for experiments or for training purposes? Medical science has advance to the point were limbs and even faces can be transplanted.

Surely my body doesn't belong to NHS when I die. For example, god forbid, should your baby or child die, their body would be automatically harvested for organs and tissue. However hard it would be, surely it should be up to the parent to give permission as to whether their organs be donated. I would be extremely upset if the NHS return the body and all organs/limbs/face are missing. This may be extreme now, but how far into the future where this could be acceptable and be open to "abuse".

Spoon

Les, all well and good if the country didn't suffer badly from apathy and 'I'll do that tomorrow' disease.

That's why I'm for it. **** the government, it's potentially helping others without having to do anything, which should help the pre-mentioned majority.

Loads more would actually sign-up if only they went and signed up. That's not good enough with the current crisis.

You can see some people are against the idea because it will force them to actually opt out which means actually doing something about it. However, in the meantime they can have a moan about how they are being controlled. Those genuine moaners (Not everyone) would benefit from directing that energy into registering themselves now and letting their families know, and maybe then the government would rethink due to the huge increase in numbers registered.

davegtt

Out of interest, if you sign up for a donor card can you specify what you dont want to be reused? i.e. I wouldnt want my heart used but I dont mind about anything else.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

why not your heart?

davegtt

Dunno, just feel like its mine. Doesnt feel right to me offering your heart to someone else, bit too freaky for me that one

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

so they can have anything else but that... yeah I know what's freaky and it aint your heart

Shows you the strange rationale people put on things.

davegtt

Dont know how to describe it tbh. call me freaky if you like but its just something I dont feel comfortable with, simple

Spoon

Dave, you shouldn't need to desribe it either. It's your choice and nobody elses.



































Freak!!!!

Jerome

When I registered as a donor through my driving licence, I dithered for a moment about donating my eyes. I then realised how daft it was to not donate my eyes when I am going to be cremated (no way I want to be worm food). If you have code 115 on your driving licence, you are a registered donor.

My biggest fear is going blind, so if my premature death helps someone regain their sight again, great.

I really don't think this is anything to do with big brother or erosion of rights. It is doctors calling for this, not the government.

Anyway, how are your rights being compromised/eroded when you can opt out?

As said before, I bet the detactors of this scheme would be the first to change their minds if it were them that needed a transplant.

Lastly, can you imagine how horrible it must be to be on the waiting list, knowing that hundreds of potential donors are being buried/cremated every week simply because they never got round to opting in (or telling their relatives their intentions to be a donor). Lethargy on the part of the populace should not comdemn the needy to a needless premature death.

boomer

...well put UB.

And what next - not just your eyes or kidneys? Why not let the state have your estate (on an opt-out basis) upon death. Lets face it, if it save just one life

mb

Leslie

Quite right mb, wonder what else is on the "secret agenda"!

Les

Holy Ghost

**

cynical distraction tactics. sir liam donaldson's department spins this 'idea' to diffuse the attention focused on his utter ineptitude over the junior doctors recruitment scandal that he and the unlamented patricia hewitt have presided over - and is in the process of getting worse.

that having been said, it's just typical of this overbearing state to want to "assume consent" - instead of encouraging people to volunteer their consent using the persuasion of good argument and public awareness of medical need.

which will be cheaper? an annual, national, COI-funded donor recruitment campaign? or another badly-thought out and badly-managed government IT project that either gets canned after wasting millions or isn't fit for purpose when it goes live - this time to operate a national database of organ donors (naturally recording your key biometric data)?

this non-idea speaks more about labour's natural aversion to public dialogue than anything else.

i carry the card. others can help if they do too. there's the message. go and spread it.

Chris L

Well technically they do - if you don't leave a will and have no family / dependants - your estate reverts to the Crown

For all the supposed political undertones of this decision (for which I'm not buying into for a minute (and I'm no fan of the present government either)), the plea from the CMO struck me more as a doctor who is fed up seeing people die needlessly rather than some dark plot for the government to own your body after death (and even if they did, what on earth are they going to do with it and since you've popped your clogs, how will you know or care?)

I with Spoon on this one - if people actually made a decision and took the trouble to carry a card or register in the first place, then there would be no need for this. It's apathy and laziness that has caused the problem.