Organ donation

Yesterday I received my November issue of Student BMJ, which was nice to find on my doorstep when I got home from work! On one of the first couple of pages there was a short piece on organ donations and medical student had given their personal opinions on the matter. This made me think about how I felt about it; once I no longer need my organ why not give them to someone else who would gain from them. This morning I registered on the NHS website to become an organ donor.

To me, it is no different to passing down clothes I have outgrown to my siblings or giving old possessions to a charity shop. I can however understand that some are squeamish at the thought of being dissected and that other might not want to donate some organs such as their eyes as they feel they are unique to them. Also I can imagine that it is easier to donate your own organs than for your grieving relatives to make the decision for you. Some would be comforted that there is an upside to this traumatic event of losing someone, however others may find it hard to 'let go' and could not bear the physical thought of their loved ones being cut.

An article on the BBC news about a week ago looked at the success of organ donation in Scotland and are looking at setting up an 'opt out' scheme whereby all patients donate their organs unless they say otherwise. 37% of Scots have registered as donors however a further 600 donations are required. Changing to an opt out system hopes to increase the donations to save more lives however there are some issues to overcome before we can take patients assumed consent.

BBC weblink