Comments on: Can’t take ‘em with you

By: Celeste

Celeste — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 01:35:54 +0000

I like this website. I am a student at Purdue University and I was assigned to give a pursuasive speech on a topic for a class. So I chose organ donating because I feel strongly about it. I don’t see why anyone would want their organs to waste away in their dead bodies, when it could save another’s life. This website helped me better understand how to grab my audience’s attention and pursuade them to be and promote organ donors. Thanks

By: Darlene

Darlene — Sun, 28 Aug 2005 07:27:11 +0000

I’m a dialysis patient but I still have an organ donor sticker on my license. (It’s tempting to write ‘good damned luck! on it, though!)

My question is, due to the calcium depositing that happens with long-term dialysis, would any other organs even be useable? I get a variety of answers from my nephrologists. I’d love to be able to help someone out after I die… I’m already growing my hair long so I can donate it while I’m still alive.

By: Crystal

Crystal — Sat, 17 Jan 2004 22:28:59 +0000

I am a a first year med. term. student and we are discussing organ donation and transplants. I just had a friend pass away this week from a horrible car accident. There was no blood on the scene because they said the entire impact was internal, so of course she died on impact. (I thank God she didn’t suffer.) It got me wondering, along with my schooling topic this week. My question is… say, you’re in a car accident and are killed “on impact,” how long can you be “clinically dead” before your organs are no longer able to be donated? (Ex. you have to wait for the paramedics to be called and arrive and get to the hospital and then to OR to have your organs removed. That’s atleast 30 min. to an hour, probably.)

(Note: Not sure if it matters but I’m in North Carolina.)

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 18 Aug 2003 17:20:10 +0000

I work for an organ/tissue bank and just wanted to comment on why we contact families about donation as described in theses posts. First we do not contact families because it’s the LAW. We do it because it’s the right thing to do. Congress made it the right of every American to be offered the option of organ and tissue donation. It’s also your right to decline. When I talk to families about this option I can answer all of their questions about donation and ensure they know what they are or are not agreeing to. Unfortunately there are a lot of misconceptions about donation that cause a “knee-jerk NO” from people when they are first confronted with the decision. We just want the chance to convey the facts so people are informed, whether or not they decide to donate. Get the info first then decide. That’s all we’re trying to do. Thanks to doctors and nurses notifying the organ/tissue bank of every death (which BTW is technically not a LAW, but that’s another subject) everybody has an equal chance of exercising their rights and ability to help their fellow humans.

By: K

Sun, 16 Feb 2003 17:00:21 +0000

Well, whoever the family told first, in the hospital, had better explain to them that they (the hospital staff) are not the ones to tell, and that they (the family) WILL be getting a phone call. Otherwise, I can see getting pretty damn angry over that. As for myself, I quizzed Caryn on what she thought my organ donation status was and she correctly answered that it is “yes”. But reading all this prompted me to add, “even if it looks like I just *might* die, make sure they know there’s some primo organage that might be comin’ up for em”.

I hope everyone will instruct their next of kin to offer up their organs too. They don’t belong to us, folks, our whole bodies are just on loan.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 13 Feb 2003 18:13:22 +0000

I am all for organ donation, but I feel horribly bad for the people who are getting those calls after they expressly state that they do NOT want the organs donated. Really, that is so horrible. There must be some way to prevent that…?

By: petehed

petehed — Wed, 12 Feb 2003 11:18:55 +0000

Ok, the only thing that really creeped me out… is that harvesting starts right after the heart stops for the brain dead… I mean… as far as we can tell there’s nothing going on upstairs, but are they technically still dead at that point? How do we KNOW that there is absolutely, positively, nothing going on up there… dunno… just weirds me out a bit.