Organ Donation: Presumed Consent

[kallipolis]

Thanks Ben, but statutory practices are often translated into guide lines, when the patient has no family, and is alone in the world.

 

[Inwood]

My concern is with those who are seriously ill, but alive and having their vital organs removed, as a result of the surgeon's decision that their life should be terminated in order to provide organs for more deserving patients.

Further there are many published cases of healthy people being "kidnapped," and having a kidney removed. South America is a hot spot, for this type of activity.

There is an enormous library of tragic news surrounding the issue of organ harvesting, available on the Internet.

Do you mean things like this?

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/robbery/kidney.asp

or perhaps this one?

http://www.snopes.com/medical/emergent/donor.asp

 

[BenF]

Further there are many published cases of healthy people being "kidnapped," and having a kidney removed. South America is a hot spot, for this type of activity

Like this you mean?

 

[kallipolis]

Inwood,



China has a flourishing industry in vive section:

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-9-4/59424.html

quote

The Epoch Times first broke the story in March 2006 when Chinese inside sources revealed that organ theft from living practitioners was being carried out in connection with Chinese authorities, including the military and police.

Kilgour and Matas found that 41,500 transplants that occurred between 2000 and 2005 had no other explained source. The persecution of Falun Gong was launched by the regime in 1999.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have verified widespread ill-treatment of Falun Gong practitioners.

According to a report last year by U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak report, two-thirds of the reported instances of torture and ill treatment in China were Falun Gong cases. The U.S. State Department has reported that Falun Gong adherents may constitute at least half of the officially recorded inmates in Chinese re-education-through-labour camps.

unquote

 

[kallipolis]

Thanks Ben,

Monty Python adds some cynical flavour to life's tragedies.

I still recall your marvellous posts on Georgie Best's liver.

 

[3stripes]

My concern is with those who are seriously ill, but alive and having their vital organs removed, as a result of the surgeon's decision that their life should be terminated in order to provide organs for more deserving patients.

Where, in the opening post, did BenF suggest this?

Where, in your quoted articles, has anyone said this is what will happen.

Seems to me to be the mother of all assumptions and paranoia at work here.

Please back up your assertions with real credible evidence, or are you writing for a new monty python series?

 

[propoolplayer99]

This is settled. Harvest away.

The real question is: Should we sell organs?

 

[BenF]

Interesting suggestion has come in via the post-comments....

Only if they are transplanted into someone of the same religion as the deceased.

What do you think of that?

 

[Yuki Sohma]

May I just say that "I am a registered organ donor".......and that I strongly encourage all to also be registered organ donors.......

.......I can think of no better legacy than to help another's cause.......even at the hour of my passing.......so then.......

.......as for harvesting the organs of deceased who, IAW established organ donation laws, have not consented to having their organs removed then I believe that.......

.......it must be assumed that, at the time of their death, they did not wish to have their organs removed.......

.......even though I realize that someone else needs the deceased organs.......

.......we as a society (“We the People”) coexist in a society based on the rule of law and individual rights, we should err on the side of the deceased and not remove their organs.......

.......it is just the way I think.......but then.......

.......I also could just as easily argue that "they" (the deceased) don't need them (their organs) so why waste an opportunity to help someone else live longer or correct a deficiency.......

.......a very slippery slope.......what a great discussion topic.......

 

[levenshulme31]

Once I'm dead they can use whatever bits they may need.

That said, I would hope that were I in that situation, the doctors would do everything to keep me alive and only consider taking my organs once all hope for my survival had gone.

It's a fine line and it sounds like some hospitals in America are possibly crossing it - and the Chinese have left it back in the distance.

 

[Aaron]

In the event of death, the organs of the deceased should be harvested for transplantation unless the deceased has stated prior to death that he/she does not want this to happen.

Discuss.

Agreed.

Not that this matters to me, personally. I'm pretty sure that I can't be an organ donor in Canada... or a blood donor.

 

[BenF]

I'm no medical expert here, But "put to sleep" is usually achieved with powerful narcotics which shut down the organs, like barbiturates... I don't think it would be all to wise to go implanting those organs in someone...

However, one of the more practised individuals in medicine can feel free to correct me in this, if the Orion is indeed wrong.

As long as the organs continue to get an adequate supply of oxygen (which requires an adequate blood pressure), it does not really matter which anaesthetic agent is used during harvest. As the recipient will be going to ICU after the operation, there will be no residual effects (due to the half-life of the anaesthetic agents being as short as they are).

 

[star-warrior]

Interesting suggestion has come in via the post-comments....



What do you think of that?

What would the Watchtower say?