Organ Donar Cards

[Tangle]

I'm sorry if people think this is morbid, but please consider getting an organ donar card if you don't already have one. If you get one or have one, please make sure your next of kin is aware of your wishes.

A lot of riders tend to be young, healthy and fit - making them ideal donars if they are in a serious accident. And mitigate them as much as we can, riding is still an inherently risking occupation.

Should the worst happen to me, I'd like to think that I could help as many people as possible (it can be over 10) to a substantially better life.

Something to think about :)

[casey]

Im a donor. Its on my driving licence.:)

[Kalypso]

I am a donor...on my license too. But, unfortunately, if something does happen, it's your family's choice, no matter what you've put on your license...which I think is dumb.

[galadriel]

Yes; it's important to make sure that your family knows that you want to be an organ donor. Talk to them about it; explain why you feel that it's important. Let them know that it's not a frivolous decision.

[Laetitia]

Not much point expressing your wishes on the donor card to have your family countermanding it. Really makes me cross that does. L

[Grace O'Malley]

In yet another example of pathetic, depressing irony, I and my family are not allowed to donate blood or organs because we lived in the UK for more than 6 months during a specified period--they think we might carry mad cow disease!

Like it's not here.


:mad: :mad: :mad:

Grace

[gail_rose]

If you don't have an organ donor card but have told your family what parts of you can be used does that still count?

I don't want to carry a donor card around with me (don't ask, I'm just a bit strange about death & death related stuff) but I've told all my family & friends what bits can be used if the worst happens!.

Gail. x

[Tangle]

Originally posted by Grace O'Malley
In yet another example of pathetic, depressing irony,
Not just our government that can do that, then :rolleyes:

I think I saw an article suggesting there wasn't going to be nearly as many cases of human CJD from eating BSE infected cows as they had thought, so things might change...

Gail - at the end of the day your family will have the final say even if you have a card. It's probably more important to have talked to them :).

Out of interest, how would everyone feel if you had to opt out of organ donation, rather than the current situation (at least in the UK) where you have to opt in? I've always assumed there must be a high percentage of people who aren't really fussed either way and so ultimately won't donate through inertia rather than choice.

[galadriel]

In the US, they ask when you get your driver's license; if you want to be an organ donor, the license fee is also discounted. (At least, this has been the case in the states in which I've lived--DL's are a state thing though.) So not becoming an organ donor through apathy is probably not too common. It's very, very easy to be an organ donor.

[Tangle]

That's sensible :)

In the UK you have to actively find a form and fill in a card that you then carry around. You sometimes get them in with magazines, etc, but it's not something you have to do or are asked about for any other purpose. (At least, that's how it was when I did mine, but that was a good few years back now.)

Oh - and I underestimated in my original post. I think it could be as high as twenty individuals whose life can be helped per donar.

[Linda_San]

When I signed up for a doctor (upon coming to the UK) I ticked the box for "organ donor". Is this enough? Or do I need an actual card? Where can I get a card to have in my wallet (dont have liscence)? Is there an offical one?

EDIT: went to a lecture on steem cell research the other day, and they mentioned some figures on how many people actually donated organs upon their death. In the US, during the whole year of 2004, only 6000 people donated.

[Casey76]

I've carried a card since 1994 I think. But like Grace, if I were to move to the US then I couldn't donate.

I actually had a humerous conversation when I went to a blood drive at work when i was in the US...

After filling in all the documentation and waiting an hour or two I got to see the nurse, who was a bit preturbed that I hadn't filled in a Social Security number, so I said that I was British, and I was only visiting for 3 months, so she said that if I had my passport that would do for identification.

Then she started running down the questions...

What nationality are you? - British

Have you lived in Europe for more than 6 months between 1985 and 1996 (or something)? - Er... well I'm British, but I live in Switzerland *slight sarcasm*.

Yes, but have you lived in Europe for more than 6 months between those dates? - Yes... I'm BRITISH, like England! :rolleyes:

Oh... well in that case you can't donate, because you may have been exposed to BSE :mad:

I think this was about 3 weeks before the 2nd confimed case of BSE in the US :rolleyes:

Actually my work colleagues were really surprised when I was miffed - they all assumed that everyone is completely obsessed with BSE and CJD in the UK and everyone was ultra cautious about the prevention of it spreading / or people catching it. So when I said that no one I knew ever really thinks about it, and the only time it ever comes up in conversations is to commiserate for the farmers who it has so bady affected, they were really surpirsed.

There have been only 148 deaths from variant CJD (BSE) in the UK since 1990 (http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/figures.htm), so I honestly don't think that the general public really has too much to worry about (as long as you went a regular consumer of bovine offal or an abbatoir worker between 1985 and 1990)

[shoniedaspony]

it took me a great deal of searching on the interent and a few weeks before i could be added to the national organ donors list (still need family permission though!) and to get a donor card to alert authorities at nearest available oppurtunity. I think it needs to be made more accessible, and possibly an opt-out system would be a good idea.

[CityGirl]

Chiming in to say that it is absolutely essential that you tell people who will make the medical decisions for you that you want to be an organ donor. Just signing a license isn't enough. The doctors are going to listen to your family members. Also, you may not even have your license on you when a terrible accident happens. I've been very clear with my family about what to do in the event of a serious injury (I don't want to be put on a ventilator, no extreme measures & I want all my organs donated).

Organ donation is a great gift. I really encourage everyone to do it.

[Tangle]

You can sign up on-line now for the UK:

uktransplant (http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/how_to_become_a_donor/how_to_become_a_donor.jsp)

Linda - I honestly don't know whether that would be enough. Your next of kin MUST know, as they will have the final say. I tend to work on the principle of the more ways I can tell people (boxes to tick, card to carry, next of kin, etc) the more likely it is to happen should the situation arise.

CityGirl - chime in all you like :D

Stat's from the UK for anyone interested (from the site linked above):

In the UK between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2004:

The highest number of organ transplants ever recorded - 2,867 - were carried out, thanks to the generosity of 1,244 donors
Organs from 772 people who died were used to save or dramatically improve many people's lives through 2,396 transplants
The highest number of patients for 14 years received a kidney-only transplant with living donation now representing one in four of all kidney-only transplants
A further 2,365 people had their sight restored through a cornea transplant - the highest number for seven years
A 20% increase in non-heartbeating donation meant that more people than ever received a transplant from these donors
147 people received lung-only transplants, the highest number ever
More than 860,000 people added their names to the NHS Organ Donor Register.