UK News Organs to be taken without consent

[The Helper]

Gordon Brown has thrown his weight behind a move to allow hospitals to take organs from dead patients without explicit consent.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, the Prime Minister says that such a facility would save thousands of lives and that he hopes such a system can start this year.

The proposals would mean consent for organ donation after death would be automatically presumed, unless individuals had opted out of the national register or family members objected.

But patients' groups said that they were "totally opposed" to Mr Brown's plan, saying that it would take away patients' rights over their own bodies.

Should organ donation after death be opt-in or opt-out?

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[juty]

Well first thing what comes to mind is this is good it's saving peoples live after thinking about it for 5 minutes this is bad...... what if this person has a genetic illness that us bad this looks safe but I would place a bet that people are going to get sick because off it

 

[Wiseman_2]

Gordon Brown's throwing his weight behind it? Jesus, that's like getting rammed up the backside by a pair of bull elephants

I do not think this is a terrible scheme, but it should be... limited, certain parameters must be met. For example, only allowing donations to be made if the deceased actually died in the hospital (sounds vague, but hey, it's brainstorming).

 

[XXXconanXXX]

Well first thing what comes to mind is this is good it's saving peoples live after thinking about it for 5 minutes this is bad...... what if this person has a genetic illness that us bad this looks safe but I would place a bet that people are going to get sick because off it

They have tests to look for such things in normal organ transplants as well.

This is a good idea. They're dead, they don't care, and those organs are going to waste.

 

[UnknowVector]

Presumed consent? Sounds like the consent-level is falling rapidly. I do not want to live in a world ruled solely by the good of the majority, thats not a healthy philosophy for a society, besides being highly Utopian, it makes the individual less important than the society, by definition.

This plan calls for presumed consent, one can still opt out. But I could see the donation turning mandatory fast when the majority of the people decide its a good idea.

When we redistribute a person's organs after death without explicit consent, we state that we know better than the deceased. By that same logic, we should also do the same with a person's assets. Even if a person left a will and specifically left money to a charity, the person would most likely not make the most effective use of that money. A single person, or even a team of people, can only look at so much data at once, they are bound to miss a charity that could use the money more than any other. That money could be distributed by a council, or by simple laws that selected worthy groups to receive funds, bypassing the will.

The same could happen to people that do name heirs, rather the heirs are individuals, groups, or companies. Eliminating the will would solve this problem.

>This is a good idea. They're dead, they don't care, and those organs are going to waste.

What about those who believe that the body is sacred, even after death? I'm not talking about any specific religions either, none religious people can have the same feelings.

Organ consent is just as important as a legal will, if we remove one of them, we jeopardize the other. Mr.Brown supports a worthy cause, I won't disagree with that, but it doesn't stack up to the consequences that come after.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm saying "no"

 

[esb]

When I die, I wouldn't mind donating the organs, as long as they stuff my body so I'm not empty during the funeral.

Maybe, IMO, what they are trying to do is legalize what they are already doing...

 

[Asehujiko]

When i die, i plan on getting frozen for a few years until they have the tech that can ressurect me.

Missing organs make that much harder then it needs to be.

 

[The Helper]

What is it with the UK and organ donations