Would you donate an organ, even if it's perilous?

**masterpeach** · 08-16-2010, 01:30 PM

Last week I heard this story on the radio:

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A healthy 34 year old man died after donating a part of his liver to his older brother.

Would you donate an organ to save someone's life (someone who is important to you), even if you knew it's dangerous?

**plotthickens** · 08-16-2010, 01:52 PM

I have nursed people who have received organs. That's not a quality of life I want to endorse, and we can't really afford. Install and upkeep cost of one donated kidney could save a couple or tens of thousands children dying from malnutrition.

**Yardy** · 08-16-2010, 02:33 PM

Depends on who it was. I'd have to know them or know a lot about them and reason out the likelihood that they could do more with the organ than I could.

Sure, the person I give it to could end up somehow changing the world for the better, then again, so could I. Without enough information risking my own life would be reckless, not heroic.

**Zombicide** · 08-16-2010, 02:48 PM

No, without us would be recipients, all those donated organs would be for not (What? I have an important mission I need to accomplish), besides, no one I currently know is important to me.

**Anhedonic Lake** · 08-16-2010, 03:25 PM

It would depend on the person I would be donating to of course. So yes, it's possible.

**Imagineering** · 08-16-2010, 03:43 PM

Sure, why not? But I figured there would be some horribly screwed up catch where someone made out like a bandit. Money talks and bullshit walks.

Did you see 21 grams? I hated how he smoked and receieved a heart transplant. I thought that was ridiculous of him.

**cheerbear** · 08-16-2010, 04:02 PM

	Originally Posted by masterpeach To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Would you donate an organ to save someone's life (someone who is important to you), even if you knew it's dangerous?

Well, is there a time when donating an organ is not dangerous? Serious question.

But like others have said, it would ultimately depend on who it is. I'd do it for my immediate family, and consider it for some friends/loved ones.

**freeeekyyy** · 08-16-2010, 04:13 PM

If somebody I cared for needed an organ from me, and there was a chance it might kill me, I'd still do it. If it was certain that it would kill me, I wouldn't. That would basically be committing suicide, which is something I'm not up for.

**BobG** · 08-16-2010, 05:19 PM

No, I wouldn't. I won't even donate blood. Pure cowardice, as I'm afraid of medical procedures, period. I hate getting blood tests. I hate getting flu shots (and I don't get them now that I'm not forced to).

I do believe in donating my organs after death, though.

**Lightman** · 08-16-2010, 06:05 PM

For a close friend or close family member? Absolutely. For the general public, they can wait until I'm dead.

**Imagineering** · 08-16-2010, 06:58 PM

	Originally Posted by BobG To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	I do believe in donating my organs after death, though.

Too bad this isn't even up to us when we die, family gets to decide, and this has always bothered me. It's none of my family's business what happens to my organs.

**Brittle** · 08-17-2010, 04:11 AM

I got my spare bits from a dead cow
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But to the OP, I'd possibly consider it for my brother, my cousin or my SO.

I'm just hoping they start making some real headway on stem cell research though, so anyone needing a placement part doesn't have to rely on the current options.

**GouldFan** · 08-17-2010, 05:46 AM

For special people, yes. I can think of four people that I'd volunteer without a hesitation. I would not like to be on the receiving end though.

**masterpeach** · 08-17-2010, 05:58 AM

	Originally Posted by Imagineering To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Too bad this isn't even up to us when we die, family gets to decide, and this has always bothered me.

Is that a US problem? I think in Europe only you as the donator decide, but I am not sure (you need to register or carry a document with you where you explicitly agree you donate either parts or everything in case of certain death.)

**Night Runner** · 08-17-2010, 05:59 AM

	Originally Posted by masterpeach To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Would you donate an organ to save someone's life (someone who is important to you), even if you knew it's dangerous?

I would. The way I see it, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" principle would work great in this situation: if I donate and survive, I will have saved another person's life. If I donate and don't make it, my organs will be harvested and given to people who need them to survive. In either scenario, there's a net gain.

I wonder how many donations result in the donor's death... As the saying goes, you've gotta die of something, and this is one the most noble and selfless ways I can think of.

**Margot** · 08-17-2010, 03:47 PM

	Originally Posted by masterpeach To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Would you donate an organ to save someone's life (someone who is important to you), even if you knew it's dangerous?

Yes. It is thanks to a living donor that my dad now has a functional kidney. For my immediate family and a certain few I value, I would do it in a heartbeat if I could. To do this for anyone else, though, would take serious consideration. If I die in the meantime, the body parts can go to whomever needs them.

**Lightman** · 08-17-2010, 05:37 PM

	Originally Posted by Imagineering To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Too bad this isn't even up to us when we die, family gets to decide, and this has always bothered me. It's none of my family's business what happens to my organs.

What? You opt-in pre-mortem. It has nothing to do with your family.

**Olympics2010** · 08-17-2010, 06:01 PM

I'm surprised to hear myself saying this, but probably, no. I'm terrified of surgeries, and cannot stand the thought of putting my own life in jeapordy - unless maybe it was for some offspring that I had .....

**Smokescreen** · 08-17-2010, 06:06 PM

For the right amount of money and as long as it was something redundant, maybe.

**TheHmmmm** · 08-17-2010, 09:12 PM

Not while I'm alive. You can have whatever the hell you want when I'm dead, but I want it while I'm alive.

Even if I don't need it at all, I still want to keep it. There's no logical justification, just kind of a paranoid pack-rat mentality, except with organs. If I donate this kidney, what if someone funnels mountain dew into me while I'm asleep? Will I die? Not logical, but oh well.

**Silverity** · 08-17-2010, 10:11 PM

The OP did say it was for someone important, and knowing me, rational thought would have no place in my decision. I would be so frantic to keep my loved ones alive you wouldn't be able to rip that kidney out of me fast enough.

**SaturnEternity** · 08-17-2010, 10:19 PM

Ever since I got my drivers permit when I was 16, I've been planning on becoming an organ donar when I get my full license. But only if I'm killed in an accident or say somebody who was near and dear to me really needed something that I could survive without.

**occam** · 08-20-2010, 06:16 AM

Sure. And it would not matter who the receiver was.

**Grasshopper** · 08-20-2010, 03:13 PM

Yes. I would. I'm a full donor on my license. I'm on the bone marrow registry. Everyone in my family knows that I want to donate my organs if it's possible. If I had the opportunity to save someone else's life, I would take it. The only exception I could think of would be donating part of my liver to someone who has a damaged liver because he or she is an alcoholic.

I used to pass by a dialysis center every day on my way to school and I used to look at the people and think about how poor their quality of life must be. They have to be hooked up to these machines and they're so dependent on other people. If a kidney I could do without could save them from that, I absolutely would give it to them.

**zibber** · 08-20-2010, 03:46 PM

	Originally Posted by Yardy249 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	I'd have to know them or know a lot about them and reason out the likelihood that they could do more with the organ than I could.

How many things can you do with an organ?

View Poll Results: Donate organ?
Yes	24	37.50%
No	24	37.50%
Yes, but only something I wouldn't miss anyway (1 kidney, ...)	16	25.00%
Voters: 64. You may not vote on this poll

08-16-2010, 01:30 PM	#1
masterpeach Core Member [209%] MBTI: xxxx Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 8,398	Last week I heard this story on the radio: To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. A healthy 34 year old man died after donating a part of his liver to his older brother. Would you donate an organ to save someone's life (someone who is important to you), even if you knew it's dangerous?
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08-16-2010, 01:52 PM	#2
plotthickens Core Member [662%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 26,509	I have nursed people who have received organs. That's not a quality of life I want to endorse, and we can't really afford. Install and upkeep cost of one donated kidney could save a couple or tens of thousands children dying from malnutrition.
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08-16-2010, 02:33 PM	#3
Yardy Veteran Member [55%] MBTI: iNFj Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 2,216	Depends on who it was. I'd have to know them or know a lot about them and reason out the likelihood that they could do more with the organ than I could. Sure, the person I give it to could end up somehow changing the world for the better, then again, so could I. Without enough information risking my own life would be reckless, not heroic.
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08-16-2010, 02:48 PM	#4
Zombicide Core Member [105%] MBTI: INTj Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 4,221	No, without us would be recipients, all those donated organs would be for not (What? I have an important mission I need to accomplish), besides, no one I currently know is important to me.
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08-16-2010, 03:25 PM	#5
Anhedonic Lake Veteran Member [61%] MBTI: INfP Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 2,457	It would depend on the person I would be donating to of course. So yes, it's possible.
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08-16-2010, 03:43 PM	#6
Imagineering Member [46%] MBTI: xxxx Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 1,845	Sure, why not? But I figured there would be some horribly screwed up catch where someone made out like a bandit. Money talks and bullshit walks. Did you see 21 grams? I hated how he smoked and receieved a heart transplant. I thought that was ridiculous of him.
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08-16-2010, 04:13 PM	#8
freeeekyyy Veteran Member [78%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 3,145	If somebody I cared for needed an organ from me, and there was a chance it might kill me, I'd still do it. If it was certain that it would kill me, I wouldn't. That would basically be committing suicide, which is something I'm not up for.
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08-16-2010, 05:19 PM	#9
BobG Member [10%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 420	No, I wouldn't. I won't even donate blood. Pure cowardice, as I'm afraid of medical procedures, period. I hate getting blood tests. I hate getting flu shots (and I don't get them now that I'm not forced to). I do believe in donating my organs after death, though.
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08-16-2010, 06:05 PM	#10
Lightman Member [11%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 456	For a close friend or close family member? Absolutely. For the general public, they can wait until I'm dead.
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08-17-2010, 04:11 AM	#12
Brittle Member [23%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 958	I got my spare bits from a dead cow To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. But to the OP, I'd possibly consider it for my brother, my cousin or my SO. I'm just hoping they start making some real headway on stem cell research though, so anyone needing a placement part doesn't have to rely on the current options.
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08-17-2010, 05:46 AM	#13
GouldFan Veteran Member [99%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 3,967	For special people, yes. I can think of four people that I'd volunteer without a hesitation. I would not like to be on the receiving end though.
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08-17-2010, 06:01 PM	#18
Olympics2010 Member [06%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 270	I'm surprised to hear myself saying this, but probably, no. I'm terrified of surgeries, and cannot stand the thought of putting my own life in jeapordy - unless maybe it was for some offspring that I had .....
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08-17-2010, 06:06 PM	#19
Smokescreen Member [05%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 209	For the right amount of money and as long as it was something redundant, maybe.
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08-17-2010, 09:12 PM	#20
TheHmmmm Member [04%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 174	Not while I'm alive. You can have whatever the hell you want when I'm dead, but I want it while I'm alive. Even if I don't need it at all, I still want to keep it. There's no logical justification, just kind of a paranoid pack-rat mentality, except with organs. If I donate this kidney, what if someone funnels mountain dew into me while I'm asleep? Will I die? Not logical, but oh well.
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08-17-2010, 10:11 PM	#21
Silverity Core Member [274%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 10,998	The OP did say it was for someone important, and knowing me, rational thought would have no place in my decision. I would be so frantic to keep my loved ones alive you wouldn't be able to rip that kidney out of me fast enough.
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08-17-2010, 10:19 PM	#22
SaturnEternity Member [06%] MBTI: IXTJ Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 245	Ever since I got my drivers permit when I was 16, I've been planning on becoming an organ donar when I get my full license. But only if I'm killed in an accident or say somebody who was near and dear to me really needed something that I could survive without.
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08-20-2010, 06:16 AM	#23
occam New Member [01%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 14	Sure. And it would not matter who the receiver was.
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08-20-2010, 03:13 PM	#24
Grasshopper New Member [01%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 54	Yes. I would. I'm a full donor on my license. I'm on the bone marrow registry. Everyone in my family knows that I want to donate my organs if it's possible. If I had the opportunity to save someone else's life, I would take it. The only exception I could think of would be donating part of my liver to someone who has a damaged liver because he or she is an alcoholic. I used to pass by a dialysis center every day on my way to school and I used to look at the people and think about how poor their quality of life must be. They have to be hooked up to these machines and they're so dependent on other people. If a kidney I could do without could save them from that, I absolutely would give it to them.
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