To honour donors, we should harvest organs that have the best chance of helping others – before, not after, death


aidrocsid:

I feel like this could be dangerous for donors. It creates a sort of incentive to declare people dead prematurely. When standards for death are lower you may have instances where people don't bother with the effort they would otherwise because they see the freeing up of organs as a positive outcome.

I don't know about you, but if I went into a coma for 5 years or whatever I'd rather roll the dice on being one of those few people who just wake up one day than just give up because the numbers say my chances aren't great. Hell, I'd freeze myself after death if I had the money just to get a non-zero chance of resurrection. I mean it probably doesn't even work and maybe reincarnation or something is a thing or whatever and there's really no need, but I don't know that. From where I'm standing it sounds like death is permanent, so if it can be staved off by sitting around in a bed for a few years while medical technology advances and I maybe just wake up anyway, I think I'd rather that than make sure my organs get out to people as quickly as possible.

I don't want the little organ donor thing on my license to be the reason I die.


posted 3189 days ago