Organ Transplant

[SeraphymCrashing]

This was inspired by the news thread: http://foru.ms/t5997993-ny-baby-undergoes-5-organ-transplant.html

How do you feel about organ transplants? Is it wrong to have someone else's organs inside you? Why?

As an atheist I see nothing wrong with organ transplant. My organs don't make me who I am (unless you are counting my brain/nervous system and possibly my glands). If someone else's organs would enable me to live then I say put em in me. By the same token I am an organ donor... if someone else can use them great! I'm obviously done with them.

 

[SemperFidelis]

Can't see what the problem would be. If the donor no longer needs them (presumably they don't),and someone else has a good chance at life by accepting them, don't see why anyone should have a problem.

I'm also an organ donor, so I obviously have no problem with other people having pieces of me inside them.

 

[PureLove]

It seems a good system to me but im sure someone will find a moral in it lol

 

[MarcusHill]

I've never understood people who object to organ donation. I'm really glad that there are moves afoot in the UK to make being an organ donor something you have to explicitly opt out of in life, as opposed to the current opt-in system.

 

[Athene]

I'm not against organ transplants, I'm even an organ donor - at least I will be when I pop my clogs.

 

[TheManeki]

What if the organ donor was gay? Would that mean you might catch "teh gay?" Just kidding, but I wonder if some people might worry about that.

 

[SeraphymCrashing]

What if the organ donor was gay? Would that mean you might catch "teh gay?" Just kidding, but I wonder if some people might worry about that.

Shudder... you mean I might have a gay organ in me? What if the gay cooties spread to the other parts of my body? Hopefully god will just send my new kidney to hell and not all of me.

 

[.Sabre.]

I have no problem with it. I signed up to donate my organs too....so when I die someone else might have bits of me in them. Oh the horror, organs from a bisexual pagan!

 

[jayem]

My wife and I have both signed organ donation permission and fully support it.

In fact, I'll go a step further and say that the various regional transplant services should accept charitable donations to establish funds that would pay organ donors. Set fees would apply and would be paid to the donor in cases of live donation (kidneys, bone marrow, lung, liver, etc.) or to the estate of a deceased donor. I see nothing wrong with financial compensation to encourage voluntary donation.

But how about a child as a donor to a sibling? Should a 3 year old, who obviously can't consent, donate? Bone marrow might be ok, but how a kidney, or a portion of liver? And how about the cases where a family has a baby with the hope that the child may be a good match for a sibling who needs an organ? I'm curious to hear what people think about these situations.


Edited to add: My last paragraph is just hypothetical. I forgot to add that all transplant registries AFAIK have a minimum age for organ doantion. At least 16, IIRC. Though I think bone marrow has been taken from younger donors.

 

[AuraTwilight]

Anyone who opposes organ donating is probably evil.

 

[The Nihilist]

Anyone who opposes organ donating is probably evil.

I am evil and I support organ donation. Of course, I only support it from otherwise healthy people.

 

[Pogue]

I can't think of any objections, and have signed the organ donor register. That's if anybody wants my coffee-corrupted organs.

 

[fanatiquefou]

I am evil and I support organ donation.

That would make a great signature. Or a campaign platform, if you ever decide to run for something.

 

[Aquamarine81]

I am an organ donor as well. I won't need 'em after I'm dead so why not let someone else use 'em?

 

[shmee]

I thought I said I wanted to be an organ donor when I got my new driver's license but last time I checked I didn't see the little logo on it.

 

[Lynden1000]

An interesting variation on this question is whether anyone opposes xenotransplantation, or the transplanting of animal organs into humans.

Because human organ donation is so low, this is a hot topic of research.

 

[shmee]

Well that is just super cool. I'd heard of it before but it's neato. Yay science!

 

[jayem]

An interesting variation on this question is whether anyone opposes xenotransplantation, or the transplanting of animal organs into humans.

Heart valve replacement using pig heart valves or valves made from the pericardium of cows have been successfully done for a long time. And remember the Baby Fae case back in the 80s? A child lived for 3 weeks with a baboon heart. I think using animal organs would be an excellent approach, at least for the short term. Transgenic pigs, sheep, and cattle have been bred that express some human proteins. The goal would be to breed a strain of animals having human tissue antigens.

http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/margawati.html

But of course, the most exciting possibility involves growing new human organ tissue from stem cells.

 

[fanatiquefou]

Heart valve replacement using pig heart valves or valves made from the pericardium of cows have been successfully done for a long time. And remember the Baby Fae case back in the 80s? A child lived for 3 weeks with a baboon heart. I think using animal organs would be an excellent approach, at least for the short term. Transgenic pigs, sheep, and cattle have been bred that express some human proteins. The goal would be to breed a strain of animals having human tissue antigens.

I'm really torn about the use of animal organs in humans. On the one hand, as someone who's very concerned with the humane treatment of animals, I don't like the fact that it's impossible for an animal to give consent to donate the way a human can. On the other hand, despite my deep love and reverence for animals, ultimately I DO value human life above animal life, and if humans can be saved through this method, then that seems like a good thing. It's a tough call.

 

[Mystman]

I'm really torn about the use of animal organs in humans. On the one hand, as someone who's very concerned with the humane treatment of animals, I don't like the fact that it's impossible for an animal to give consent to donate the way a human can. On the other hand, despite my deep love and reverence for animals, ultimately I DO value human life above animal life, and if humans can be saved through this method, then that seems like a good thing. It's a tough call.

If killing animals to eat them is ok, then killing animals to save a human life should certainly be ok. (not saying that YOU eat animals, but more in a legal sense)

Anyway, I'm a donor, I'm against paying people for donating livers (seeing as only the poor would donate just for the money), and I think that xenotransplantation is fine.