organ donation...

[louise]

im hoping you twoismers will help me with something.

im on the organ donor register here in the uk but there are two things ive not offered to donate - tissues and eyes. it makes me feel terribly selfish, and i want to change my details to include them, but something freaks me out about someone else having my eyes particularly.

its weird, im more than willing to donate things i couldnt live without but i think its because i cant see them..

i dont know, anyone got any similar or different perspectives on this? help me change my mind!!

[Mexicola]

Cards on the table to begin with: I'm one of those annoying humanist types that's more than happy to donate the lot.

I guess, whenever I've thought about this, the same question has always come to mind. 'What will I need my body for once I'm gone?'. In the final few days before he passed away, unable to speak and barely able to move, Christopher Hitchins wrote about how he suddenly felt trapped inside his own corpse. Detached and let down by his failing physical being. His mind was still alive, it was his body that was dying. The vehicle for his intellect would ultimately betray him.

Having recently watched a loved one pass away in one of the most emotional and heart-breaking ways possible, I'm more convinced than ever that even though our soul does not 'carry on' after we die, equally, we are no more defined by our physical being that we are by the clothes we wear, or the possessions we acquire. When my mother's body was wheeled away in it's coffin, I grieved, but not because her body would soon be gone. Rather, because her humour, her intelligence and her love could only now be a memory to myself and others.

What use to me would eyes, or any other part of my body be, once I'm gone? None whatsoever.
Could those same items possibly help someone alive? Yes they could.

To me, any squimish feelings I might have will also die with me when I go. So, really, what's to lose?

[fujee]

Cards on the table to begin with: I'm one of those annoying humanist types that's more than happy to donate the lot.

I guess, whenever I've thought about this, the same question has always come to mind. 'What will I need my body for once I'm gone?'. In the final few days before he passed away, unable to speak and barely able to move, Christopher Hitchins wrote about how he suddenly felt trapped inside his own corpse. Detached and let down by his failing physical being. His mind was still alive, it was his body that was dying. The vehicle for his intellect would ultimately betray him.

Having recently watched a loved one pass away in one of the most emotional and heart-breaking ways possible, I'm more convinced than ever that even though our soul does not 'carry on' after we die, equally, we are no more defined by our physical being that we are by the clothes we wear, or the possessions we acquire. When my mother's body was wheeled away in it's coffin, I grieved, but not because her body would soon be gone. Rather, because her humour, her intelligence and her love could only now be a memory to myself and others.

What use to me would eyes, or any other part of my body be, once I'm gone? None whatsoever.
Could those same items possibly help someone alive? Yes they could.

To me, any squimish feelings I might have will also die with me when I go. So, really, what's to lose?

A really great, articulated response mate.

Yeah, I pretty much has the same feelings as Mex on this one. While I agree, the eyes are a particularly powerful body part, window to the soul etc.. I find myself thinking, if I could change someones life for the better once I am gone, I would be happy for them to have my eyes.

To echo again was Mex said, I think the real soul is in your head, your personality and everything else is defined by your brain, which is the only truly unique part of a persons anatomy. I think the body is a element through which to articulate ourselves beyond speech, with physical actions. To me, the 'soul' is dictated by the architecture of the mind, after all it's where we naturally develop our personalities. It's perhaps not a very romantic or spiritual way to look at it, but it makes sense, and I guess when i really think about it I am humanist mostly.

I don't think you should feel any guilt about it Lou. After all, its your body, you're already doing something fantastic by offering your body parts to people who need them. No one would judge you for keeping your eyes, its such a subjective thing and anyone with any sense of compassion for others thoughts and beliefs would totally respect that.

[Cupz]

I'm not becoming a donor because of my fear of being able to feel everything that happens to my body after I die. I mean...I can handle cremation, maybe even the worms from the earth (returning to earth must have some dignity to it), but lying in a coffin with my guts ripped out probably wouldn't feel all that well. I'm not sure I will experience it this way, but who knows.
Anyway, you never know when you're going to need that liver in the afterlife.

And you should only feel guilty for not giving your bodyparts if you also feel guilty for not giving away your house, your money, your car, your computer, your life to some stranger. No man/woman with the right mind would do that. And thats just STUFF. This is your body we're talking about.

Allot of donors have this beautiful picture of their parts being used to save kids, maybe even an inventor who creates a machine that turns food into water or something fantastic. I believe a rich guy that smokes/drinks/does wrong things for money can get their hands on those organs far quicker then that kid with the malfunctioning liver that you would love to save. Everyone of your kidneys has a price-tag.

[A_Northern_Soul]

The NHS can have as much of me as they wish after I've gone.



However I make no guarantees for the condition it will arrive in


In seriousness though, organ donation is an absolutely fantastic thing. If a working part of my corpse can be used to save or vastly improve someone's life, that can only be a good thing. I can understand a squeamishness about things like eyes - mainly because they're such an identifiable part of people, but when I'm dead, it's all just spare parts as far as I'm concerned.

[Basepair]

been an organ donor for a long time now.

if they can use any of me to extend someone's life or improve it in someway they're welcome to.

When I'm dead i certainly won;t need my body. And it's a lot more useful than burying/ cremating it.

Do it!

[louise]

thanks for all the answers guys. some of the answers were really thoughtful & helpful (particularly mexico's - im so sorry about your mum)

but yeah think im going with the majority vote on this one. i have the pleasure of studying biology and sat looking at a skeleton today and it made it all seem a bit more logical. and i got a leaflet with my passport today which strangely enough said would you give an organ or body part you'd be prepared to take if you needed to. of course i would. so yeah thanks for everyones input, bit of rationality always helps

[Mexicola]

thanks for all the answers guys. some of the answers were really thoughtful & helpful (particularly mexico's - im so sorry about your mum)

but yeah think im going with the majority vote on this one. i have the pleasure of studying biology and sat looking at a skeleton today and it made it all seem a bit more logical. and i got a leaflet with my passport today which strangely enough said would you give an organ or body part you'd be prepared to take if you needed to. of course i would. so yeah thanks for everyones input, bit of rationality always helps

Thanks Louise.

Great decision too.

[louise]

Thanks Louise.

Great decision too.

:)x

[harpoon dodger]

I think it's awesome that there's so many people on here who are willing donors. I personally, could not..I want to remain whole, even in death. If that makes any sense. Same reason why I don't want to be cremated--I shall return to the earth whence I came, someday.

[A_Northern_Soul]

^ so will I. But hopefully a few more people will get some use out of bits of me 1st.

As someone who has a couple of friends who had had various transplants, I think it's incredible - especially in the case of organs, where the recipient gets the rushed call because the organ they need has suddenly become available (for obvious reasons). When I go, I'm sure my nearest and dearest will be incredibly upset. But the idea that just a few hours afterwards I could be helping someone get another shot at life, and a bring a bit of joy to another family - it's beautiful

[louise]

I think it's awesome that there's so many people on here who are willing donors. I personally, could not..I want to remain whole, even in death. If that makes any sense. Same reason why I don't want to be cremated--I shall return to the earth whence I came, someday.

well i dont want to keep coming back haha. it just made me feel weird about my eyes wandering around without me i was thinking along the lines of what fujenetics said about eyes being the window to the soul kinda, like theyre personal. but then others have quite rightly said on here that your bodys just a mode of transport for your mind really, you're eyes are pretty useless. and theres no way id be coming back without all my other organs anyway so its quite logical to donate the lot

^ so will I. But hopefully a few more people will get some use out of bits of me 1st.

As someone who has a couple of friends who had had various transplants, I think it's incredible - especially in the case of organs, where the recipient gets the rushed call because the organ they need has suddenly become available (for obvious reasons). When I go, I'm sure my nearest and dearest will be incredibly upset. But the idea that just a few hours afterwards I could be helping someone get another shot at life, and a bring a bit of joy to another family - it's beautiful

^ aww i love this

[A_Northern_Soul]

Thank you

And well done on your decision.

[louise]

Thank you

And well done on your decision.

thank you, and thanks for contributing, really helped :)x

[Cupz]

Just to necro-bump an old thread. I found out that being a donor is not as romantic as it seems and the chances of your parts actually working are very slim. I've met someone who "wasted" (his words, not mine) 6 donor hearts as his body would reject them. This is apparently very common. Chances some kid will walk around with your donated guts are exponentially smaller than them ending up in the bio-bin after being rejected by some old fart's immune system.

If anything important stops working to the point where I'd need a new one, I think I'd call it a life. I doubt I would have it replaced unless its a spare part from a family member. I would gladly transcend to the other plane and meet grammama, Hendrix and my many dead childhood pets.

[drillkicker]

Cards on the table to begin with: I'm one of those annoying humanist types that's more than happy to donate the lot.

I guess, whenever I've thought about this, the same question has always come to mind. 'What will I need my body for once I'm gone?'. In the final few days before he passed away, unable to speak and barely able to move, Christopher Hitchins wrote about how he suddenly felt trapped inside his own corpse. Detached and let down by his failing physical being. His mind was still alive, it was his body that was dying. The vehicle for his intellect would ultimately betray him.

Having recently watched a loved one pass away in one of the most emotional and heart-breaking ways possible, I'm more convinced than ever that even though our soul does not 'carry on' after we die, equally, we are no more defined by our physical being that we are by the clothes we wear, or the possessions we acquire. When my mother's body was wheeled away in it's coffin, I grieved, but not because her body would soon be gone. Rather, because her humour, her intelligence and her love could only now be a memory to myself and others.

What use to me would eyes, or any other part of my body be, once I'm gone? None whatsoever.
Could those same items possibly help someone alive? Yes they could.

To me, any squimish feelings I might have will also die with me when I go. So, really, what's to lose?

With that mindset, it may just be better to not donate any of your organs, let life die out as a whole and just have the whole ordeal done and over with.

[Mexicola]

Huh?

[Guinazacity]

no idea what to say about it man, i don't know you anyway, but just keep in mind someone that needs the corneas might not get them if you don't sign up for that.

but i dunno, your body your rules.

[Negamuse]

Talking coldly and probabalistically, if the chances of it working are crap across the board, you might as well give it a go to be honest. I can see if there were something specific about my body that it was rejecting all these organs, wheras in the rest of the population it went through fine, I might think "gee, better call it a day and let someone else use these hearts" but if it's dodgy for everyone then why not? It's not like the organs would be doing better anywhere else and they're no less wasted if they're being cremated or buried along with the body they were born in.

[noisy]

I think the way forward is growing new organs from stem cells. Whether it is your own or a relatives, less chance of rejection. but organ donation is an individual's choice, its up to that person entirely. And if saving a life or enhancing someones, it is a wonderful thing to do.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-28106253

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... s-way.html

They are experimenting on animals in this research. just another moral dilemma for some ?