Organ Donation - Have you had the talk?

Dear Bethann,

It is approaching 1:00 am here as I write this comment, unable to sleep due to your last what would you say post!

I have written on my Colorado license that all my organs are to be donated. I have repeatedly told this to my family and have insisted that I would want the rest of me to be cremated.

There is a wonderful poem that expresses the reasons incredibly well and I used to keep a copy with all my important papers. Now that I have put most everything in storage, I have no Idea where it is....

I am going to go on a search for that poem and if I find it, I will post it (and send another copy to all of my family).

I have the organ donor designation. Good reminder for others.

Hi Susan,

Sorry about your insomnia :( I'd really like to read that poem if you find it.

Thanks for sharing, and I hope you get some sleep.

Good for you, Kay! Thanks for commenting.

I'm with you on that, Dan. I told my husband to pull the plug, and he told me the same thing as well.

I have it designated on my license and all of my family members know my wishes.

I had to convince my husband and mom that I wanted to donate (it is on my license). I told them if anything happened they would have to approve. They still believed that old wives tale that if you're a donor they don't try to save you. I finally convinced them that it just wasn't true, and if I didn't make it, I would rather be able to help someone.

Good for you, Heather.

Sheila,

I'm glad you had the conversation with your family and they know your wishes.

Somewhere I heard before that it is also an espense to the organ donor's family. Not sure it that is true, but perhaps something to look into?

I checked out whether the donor's family is responsible for the costs associated with organ donation, and I found that the family is not responsible.

Thanks for the info. Have a nice Friday! :)

I watched Oprah yesterday, it was a GREAT show and 1 segment was on Organ Donation. I;m also a nurse and yes I'm an organ donor. Thanks for posting this.

Good for you, Vera.

I have elected to donate my organs as has my hubby.

Good for you, Michelle, and your husband.

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Bethann.....Great Post to increase Awareness! I am a critical care nurse and Yes, if ONE family member is not in agreement with your donation wishes....it will not be carried out. It is best to also have a Living Will expressing your desires for removal of life support, artificial feeding, etc....as some families are torn but then will ultimately carry out your wishes if they see it again and are reminded of your wishes in a legal-type form. There is no cost for organ donation to the donor family....the patient goes off billing as soon as brain death is declared and they are accepted as a suitable donor. I also have personal experience as a donor family as we donated my brother's organs back in 1981......it helps to know that his death helped 3 people live a much more fuller quality of life and their families were able to enjoy them for a longer period of time here on this Earth.

Hi Cindy, sorry for the loss of your brother, but it's nice to hear that 3 people benefitted from his gift.

No I am NOT donating my Organs and neither is my husband. God gave us one set of organs. He did not intend for us to harvest other peoples organs. So some rich person can have a longer life because they screwed up and abused thier bodies. This is unethical, immoral and plain wrong. I don't care if it would save someone elses life. They should have taken care of thier bodies in the first place. I know poor people seldom benefit from this harvest bounty. No way will I ever donate my organs for someone elses use. God did not intend us to donate or sell our bodies and parts. To me this is playing God which none of us has any right to do especially so the more privelaged can benifit at the expense of others.

Yep had that talk !

Good for you, Kimber. It's an important talk to have.

We have had the talk, but I am too old to donate. I also don't like the harvesting aspect. I have always wondered if the doctors would go that extra mile if I had signed away my organs. However, as a young woman I did just that.

I have had the talk; I don't envy anyone who finds themself in this situation.

Thanks April. I appreciate your input. Thanks for stopping by.

Hi Kate, thanks for your input and for stopping by. Good for you for having the talk.

my license says I am a donor, and I believe my husbands does also, but no we have not spoke about this.

I suppose since we both are donors that we would just automatically say yes, donate organs if heaven forbid something were to happen where we were faced with that decision, but I guess we still should probably talk about it.

Hi Amanda,

Good for you and your husband for being donors. It's not an easy subject to discuss for most people, but it's an important conversation.

Thanks for stopping by.

I have the organ donation thing, but I am afraid it creeps my husband out. If he dies, could I donate his organs? How could I when it creeps him out? How could I not when it would mean so much to someone? Hopefully we will die together and our kids can decide!

Hi Ellie, thanks for dropping by and commenting. It can be very difficult for some people to talk about this subject.

OK, Bethann, two months later, here is the link to the poem and to my article entitled

April is National Donate Life Month

I hope you find the poem worth the wait.

~Susan