a plea - organ donation

[Anodyne]

(Nah not for me, I'm fine)

A friend of mine recently died in a fairly prolonged and unpleasant way, all because a donor organ couldn't be found in time. I'm upset that he's dead, but I am ABSOLUTELY FUCKING LIVID about the circumstances.

 

I remember reading that "have you ever saved a life" thread. I've probably saved a few, but like most of those stories it was all a matter of being in the right place at the right time - partly courage, but mostly dumb luck. With this organ donor thing though, you could be saving lives even after you're dead. No need to perform CPR or jump into a river or even call an ambulance. All you need to do is fill out the form. And as the site says, please discuss it with your family as well - as I understand it, they usually get final say in the matter. If you believe that they might not respect your wishes, make sure that your will says the same thing and try to have a strong legal advocate like a partner &/or lawyer who will speak on your behalf.

 

I know, no one wants to think about their own mortality. I know filling out medicare forms is a pain in the arse. But this might take five minutes. If someone was bleeding out on the street, wouldn't you take a few minutes out of your day to stop and help? And that's potentially what's at stake here, you could be saving someones life - several people even - just by ticking a few boxes. Less time than it takes to check your email.

 

So please, do my blood pressure a favour and sign up. I apologise if I don't respond, I'm mid-bender and expect to be pretty much incoherent for the rest of the week, so I'll just thank you all in advance.

Thank you.

 

And just in case anyone missed the link, here it is again: Organ Donor Registry

[Darklight]

Shit, so sorry this has happened to you and those around you

Have been on the register for several years now, it does only take a few minutes. I had to sign some papers they mailed me but that was another five minutes and once it's done it's done for life. My family and friends are all aware of this too. Shouldn't be much left after everything is recycled, I won't be using it so I won't care

Go the bender. I know I'm not supposed to say it but they can be incredibly useful in the short term. But do it safely if you can. And come back to us after a bit and let us know you are OK, OK?

[coolname]

im already on the register. if any of my organs are still good when i die then i hope someone can use them. i think its bullshit that you have to actually choose to donate them. like darklight said, do whatever you need to do anodyne. im sure i wont be the only one thinking about you

[Alice]

I just got my drivers licence renewed, and I noticed that it no longer states that I am a Donor A. Does this mean that I am off the register now? WTF?

[PhoenixSon]

I just got my drivers licence renewed, and I noticed that it no longer states that I am a Donor A. Does this mean that I am off the register now? WTF?

yep im pretty sure they stopped that, new system as fair as im aware.

will fill out it out, all my family is keen to donate theirs not like they are going to use them anyway when they have passed away!

[IndianDreaming]

Sorry to hear about your loss - bend away.

I have some issues with organ donation though. It's not "after you're dead" - it's whilst you're still alive. Recently there has been funding given to hospitals for organs harvested too - $20,000 to be precise. When I consider the amount of times I've heard "So they switched off the breathing machine because they held no hope, and they kept breathing and made a full recovery" - Leaving the decision of whether I'd recover to some quack that stands to gain $20k for their hospital doesn't fill me with a sense of security. In the case mentioned above, they would have harvested the organs before turning off the machine.

I do think organ donation is a good idea - but imo the system around it at present isn't the best. I've even heard unconfirmed stories that there are organs available at the time, but the administration of the whole organ donation system is terrible at linking donor A to recipient B.

[quarterflesh]

Dont you have to die in a certain way before they can use your organs?

[IndianDreaming]

"Clinically dead" is the term isn't it? Or "brain dead" - The body still needs to be alive and thriving for them to harvest organs. It takes quite awhile to remove an organ, more than 30 mins, and if they began after you had died, the organs would be unusable. You need to be alive for the entire procedure, and hence the organ is alive and oxygenated right up until the final cut to sever the arteries.

[Darklight]

Recently there has been funding given to hospitals for organs harvested too - $20,000 to be precise. When I consider the amount of times I've heard "So they switched off the breathing machine because they held no hope, and they kept breathing and made a full recovery" -

Do you have a reference for that? Or do you work in the health care industry?

If I can't feel or think or walk and am clinically brain dead, as opposed to normal brain dead ;) and there is no hope of recovery, harvest away, fuck the 0.0001% chance I'll live to play the piano again.

My choice. But do give me the top shelf painkillers, just in case ;)

[AnthromorphicGerbil]

I would rather leave this material world for the spirit world than accept someone else's organs to keep me going a little longer. When it is my time it will be my time and I accept that completely and with joy.

As for my organs, well, they are going to the worms and the earth.

I have no cemetery insurance and I don't expect my family to get into debt for thousands to buy a ridiculous old box to bury me in. Just dig a good old fashioned hole out in the country somewhere remote, plop my carcass in it, fill it up and plant a dozen cannabis seedlings around the plot and let them reproduce and let friends and family gather on occasion to partake of my lovely ladies.

[IndianDreaming]

The initiative to fund hospitals for organ donations was a part of the 'Australian Organ and Tissue Authority' that the fed govt started in 2009. They were allocated $151 over 4 years - and a part of that money went into the hospitals, allocated per organ donation. I can't find the article I read (did a quick search, cbf finding it), but I distinctly recall reading it and thinking "Wow, money for organs, they'll be ripping out organs from people suffering from coughs and colds to get at that cash" - The healthcare industry is renowned for being underfunded, so money that's available is highly sought after.

A quick search also reveals quite a few "I'm still alive" stories too: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/dead-patient-colleen-burns-wakes-amid-organ-donation-at-st-josephs-hospital-in-new-york/story-fneuz9ev-1226676841192

I'm all for growing organs out of the patients own body tissue - that's some spectacular work.

[Darklight]

 

A quick search also reveals quite a few "I'm still alive" stories too: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/dead-patient-colleen-burns-wakes-amid-organ-donation-at-st-josephs-hospital-in-new-york/story-fneuz9ev-1226676841192

Thanks for the links and references. I'd still make the same choice, I've heard ( pers comm ) that the quality of life for some of the lucky few to make it back isn't that crash hot. But it's their life, not my call

I'm all for growing organs out of the patients own body tissue - that's some spectacular work.

I would totally invent the re-useable zip drive liver. Plug in and play

But I digress. Anodyne if you're out there, we're thinking of you and hope you are doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances

[Slybacon]

OK-

Sorry to keep this short but I don't have time to elaborate.

Basically the story in summary goes like this-

My brother speeding goes over a rise on a bridge and hits a puddle on the otherside, he aqua planes killing the two other occupants and ejecting him through the front window. He is kept alive on the side of the road with CPR until an ambulance arrives. He is taken to ICW and put on life support in a coma. It wasn't looking good for him and the doctors told us he probably wont make it. But here is where it gets interesting....

As he was a DONOR A on his licence he was already being assessed for suitability as an organ donar as his injuries were mostly head trauma. He wasn't even fucking dead yet. As the COMA went on the staff at the hospital put pressure on our family to cut off the life support, that he could help save the life of others. They said he was basically Brain Dead with no hope of recovery.... So the coma went on for about 3 months with increasing pressure to end his life support.

Thing is..... He is awake and alive today, he has slight brain damage but is highly functional.

I think it is OK to share your wishes to be a DONOR with your family but I don't advocate people signing it for there license. Things may have changed now but I will never sign my organs away. My family can donate them if they wish but I won't be putting it on legal documents.

Sorry to neg this thread it just brought up some memories....

[~shameless~]

I wonder if a paedophile or child killer can get a donor liver or kidneys in Australia or anywhere else around the world...... that would be the only thing that would put me off being a donor,

^ Sly that is full on bro , onya family for staying vigilant , if I become a donor I will remember this story

[Halif]

Slybacon: that is indeed quite a chapter in your life.

As the COMA went on the staff at the hospital put pressure on our family to cut off the life support

I don't like this at all. That is pretty outrageous and would make me very angry and stressed.

Becoming an organ donor is such a personal thing. It's not for me but I can see both sides of the situation. I tend to agree with Michael68's comments above.

I've been through too much with family members in hospitals to want anything to do with them anymore.

[AndyAmine.]

Can you donate if you have an I.V drug use history?

I know that one cant give blood because if it, I was told that even if a person has only injected unprescribed drugs once and has tested clean since they are still not allowed to donate blood.

So I assume its the same deal with organs?

[C_T]

how will they know when your laying unconscious?

[Anodyne]

Thanks for the kind wishes all, I'm still here. But the poor bastard who inherits my liver has nothing to be looking forward to.

I just got my drivers licence renewed, and I noticed that it no longer states that I am a Donor A. Does this mean that I am off the register now? WTF?

I think there were a bunch of different registries which they're now trying to lump together into a nationwide thing linked to your medicare number rather than your driver's licence. Makes more sense really, then they've got all your medical info there with it. So you might need to sign up again - if you're already listed, you'll just get a "duplicate form" error come up.

Can you donate if you have an I.V drug use history?

I know that one cant give blood because if it, I was told that even if a person has only injected unprescribed drugs once and has tested clean since they are still not allowed to donate blood.

So I assume its the same deal with organs?

Don't quote me on this, but I do believe it's different for organs. Sometimes the recipient has the same disease that would otherwise disqualify an organ from being used, for instance. The blood-donor questionnaire really pisses me off though - they ask all the wrong things. But the fact that there's no such questionnaire attached to the organ-donor form makes me think that the rules are different here.

Slybacon, sorry to hear about your brother. I didn't realise hospital staff would be such arseholes about hassling families. Thanks for putting in another perspective, I was pretty pissed off when I started this thread and didn't think about that too much. Sorry to bring up bad memories mate.