6 ms·

What possible incentive could there be to hoard your organs after death?

read_if_gay_ 6y ago
Organs are worth a lot of money. The wrong incentives may mean you end up pronounced dead when you could’ve lived because someone is collecting a fat check for your organs.
- kjjw 6y ago
  Not in the UK.
  - ekianjo 6y ago
    Wait until you find out later that there is a black market going on in the UK.
  - read_if_gay_ 6y ago
    How can you be sure? There are even human trafficking rings in first world countries.
alibaba_x 6y ago
It's not about hoarding organs. If you are an exact match for some wealthy person on a transplant waitlist you might legitimately fear for your safety.
cameronbrown 6y ago
"Hoard"? They're mine to give away, not the state's. For the record, I already opted-in, but this needs to be a choice.
- jonny_eh 6y ago
  They're not yours when you're dead. It's no different from your estate. If you don't leave a will, the state decides what to do with what you leave behind.
  - Godel_unicode 6y ago
    The first two sentences here are pretty contradictory. If they're not yours then why would you be allowed to direct what happens with them? The will doesn't execute until after you die.
  - askk 6y ago
    Yes, Josef Wissarionowitsch, the state decides! Now let me get back to work, I have to work harder for the collective.
  - tomjen3 6y ago
    The state doesn't choose what to do with my estate, it follows specific rules that are what most people would want. In Denmark, that means that your spouse or children gets the money.
user982 6y ago
Your organs could go to a violent criminal who uses their new lease on life to threaten others': https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/01/us/anthony-stokes-heart-transplant-death/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/01/us/anthony-stokes-heart-trans...
- mathieuh 6y ago
  And the guy you hold the door open for tomorrow could be just after murdering someone... bit of a stretch there
chosenbreed37 6y ago
They might be needed in the after life :-). Jokes aside I think individuals should have a right to do what they want with their organs. Even posthumously...
- jonny_eh 6y ago
  You can't decide what to do post-humously, for obvious reasons. You can specify before you die though, that's the reason there's an opt-out.
- Fnoord 6y ago
  Opt-out allows for such. It just assumes most people want to donate. That's a different opt-out than spam. Most people are not interested in spam.
JoshTriplett 6y ago
Several: First, there are documented studies showing that known organ donors have a slightly lower survival rate in hospitals than non-donors do. Draw what conclusions from that you will, but some people choose not to be a donor for precisely that reason. And second, if you have any plans or hopes for cryogenic preservation, that's not particularly compatible with organ donation.
- crooked-v 6y ago
  > Draw what conclusions from that you will An obvious complication here is that in an opt-in system, people who have more directly faced the possibility of death (extreme sports participants, people with chronic conditions, etc) may be more likely to be donors. To get numbers with fewer confounding factors, you would need to look at an opt-out system and compare the default opt-in population with a reasonably comparative slice of people who are not automatically donors but have neither intentionally opted out, such as, in the case of the new NHS policy, 'people who have lived in England for less than 12 months before their death'. > And second, if you have any plans or hopes for cryogenic preservation If you're planning for cryogenic suspension after death (actually planning for it, not just idly thinking about it), filling out an opt-out form is just a minor footnote compared to the piles of other paperwork needed to set up a legal trust to preserve your body.
- Traster 6y ago
  Also, just on a human level, people don't want to be chopped up and parcelled out as used parts for other people. I don't feel that way, but I understand how people can feel that way and we should respect their wishes.
  - crooked-v 6y ago
    ...in which case it's easy to opt out, for the people who do feel that way.
    - stevenwliao 6y ago
      But they can't if they don't know it's opt-out, which is why thread OP argues that BBC should announce this.
devmunchies 6y ago
"sanitary fees" at funeral homes are added since they now have to store a leaky mess in their fridge. Some families might not be able to pay for extra costs, even if you're just getting cremated.
tomjen3 6y ago
It is not just organs, it is also things like your skin, eyes, etc. I think a lot of people would object to having their face carved out and then have it attached to another person. I opted in for everything that can be removed while still having a body that is me that people can say goodbye to.

Organs are worth a lot of money. The wrong incentives may mean you end up pronounced dead when you could’ve lived because someone is collecting a fat check for your organs.

kjjw 6y ago
Not in the UK.
- ekianjo 6y ago
  Wait until you find out later that there is a black market going on in the UK.
- read_if_gay_ 6y ago
  How can you be sure? There are even human trafficking rings in first world countries.

alibaba_x 6y ago

It's not about hoarding organs. If you are an exact match for some wealthy person on a transplant waitlist you might legitimately fear for your safety.

cameronbrown 6y ago

"Hoard"? They're mine to give away, not the state's. For the record, I already opted-in, but this needs to be a choice.

jonny_eh 6y ago
They're not yours when you're dead. It's no different from your estate. If you don't leave a will, the state decides what to do with what you leave behind.
- Godel_unicode 6y ago
  The first two sentences here are pretty contradictory. If they're not yours then why would you be allowed to direct what happens with them? The will doesn't execute until after you die.
- askk 6y ago
  Yes, Josef Wissarionowitsch, the state decides! Now let me get back to work, I have to work harder for the collective.
- tomjen3 6y ago
  The state doesn't choose what to do with my estate, it follows specific rules that are what most people would want. In Denmark, that means that your spouse or children gets the money.

user982 6y ago

Your organs could go to a violent criminal who uses their new lease on life to threaten others': https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/01/us/anthony-stokes-heart-transplant-death/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/01/us/anthony-stokes-heart-trans...

mathieuh 6y ago
And the guy you hold the door open for tomorrow could be just after murdering someone... bit of a stretch there

chosenbreed37 6y ago

They might be needed in the after life :-). Jokes aside I think individuals should have a right to do what they want with their organs. Even posthumously...

jonny_eh 6y ago
You can't decide what to do post-humously, for obvious reasons. You can specify before you die though, that's the reason there's an opt-out.
Fnoord 6y ago
Opt-out allows for such. It just assumes most people want to donate. That's a different opt-out than spam. Most people are not interested in spam.

JoshTriplett 6y ago

Several: First, there are documented studies showing that known organ donors have a slightly lower survival rate in hospitals than non-donors do. Draw what conclusions from that you will, but some people choose not to be a donor for precisely that reason. And second, if you have any plans or hopes for cryogenic preservation, that's not particularly compatible with organ donation.

crooked-v 6y ago
> Draw what conclusions from that you will An obvious complication here is that in an opt-in system, people who have more directly faced the possibility of death (extreme sports participants, people with chronic conditions, etc) may be more likely to be donors. To get numbers with fewer confounding factors, you would need to look at an opt-out system and compare the default opt-in population with a reasonably comparative slice of people who are not automatically donors but have neither intentionally opted out, such as, in the case of the new NHS policy, 'people who have lived in England for less than 12 months before their death'. > And second, if you have any plans or hopes for cryogenic preservation If you're planning for cryogenic suspension after death (actually planning for it, not just idly thinking about it), filling out an opt-out form is just a minor footnote compared to the piles of other paperwork needed to set up a legal trust to preserve your body.
Traster 6y ago
Also, just on a human level, people don't want to be chopped up and parcelled out as used parts for other people. I don't feel that way, but I understand how people can feel that way and we should respect their wishes.
- crooked-v 6y ago
  ...in which case it's easy to opt out, for the people who do feel that way.
  - stevenwliao 6y ago
    But they can't if they don't know it's opt-out, which is why thread OP argues that BBC should announce this.

devmunchies 6y ago

"sanitary fees" at funeral homes are added since they now have to store a leaky mess in their fridge. Some families might not be able to pay for extra costs, even if you're just getting cremated.

tomjen3 6y ago

It is not just organs, it is also things like your skin, eyes, etc. I think a lot of people would object to having their face carved out and then have it attached to another person. I opted in for everything that can be removed while still having a body that is me that people can say goodbye to.