Great news amon all the doom and gloom

I agree with you Calendargirl. I am 100% behind the change in the law.

Exchanging leaf blowers, chain saws and other tools on a reciprocal basis bears absolutely no relationship whatsoever to receiving someone else's heart, lungs, kidney etc so that argument has no foundation at all.

If the leaf blower is faulty you hand it back. Hardly the same with a kidney donated by someone who had a disease but did not dare to opt out just in case they needed a transplant themself.
This issue cannot be treated in such a rigid way

It does seem irrelevant if the family can override your wishes. I agree with the opt out legislation and like Catteryslave see it as a gift to help someone rather than something being taken from me.

This is the NHS advice re existing medical conditions and being a donor

Can I become an organ donor if I have existing medical conditions?
Having an illness or medical condition doesn't necessarily prevent a person from becoming an organ or tissue donor. The decision about whether some or all organs or tissue are suitable for transplant is made by a medical specialist at the time of donation, taking into account your medical, travel and social history.

There are very few conditions where organ donation is ruled out completely.

A person cannot become an organ donor if they have or are suspected of having:

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
Ebola virus disease
Active cancer*
HIV
* Someone with current active cancer cannot become an organ donor. However, it may be possible for people with certain types of cancers to donate after three years of treatment. It may also be possible to donate eyes and some tissue in these circumstances.

** In rare cases, the organs of donors with HIV have been used to help others with the same conditions.

The decision about whether some or all organs or tissue are suitable for transplant is always made by a medical specialist at the time of donation, taking into account your medical history

I signed up to donate my organs some years ago if they can be used as diabetic, I know my blood can’t be donated. The one thing I opted out of was eyes, may seem very stupid but once I was of enough to find out what diabetes can do I have always had a fear of going blind. Came near to it when I had a corneal ulcer,sight isn’t good in that eye then I had eye paralysis. Thinking on it, they would be no good to anyone lol

I agree. The reason is that there are too few donating despite advertising, etc
Also, if someone is willing and dies, it's wrong their nearest and dearest have a say. It's often a case of life or death for tbe recipient.
A late friend had a new kidney and it gave her more years until her son was about 11. She had a brain haemorrhage and died suddenly

What happens to bodies after death anyway? They are either buried and left to rot or are burnt to a crisp. Surely it is a shameful waste if bits can be harvested first to help others. Sorry to be blunt about it but there should be no room for sentimentality when lives are at stake.

Thank you for the clarification, suziewoozie

Now, the fact remains that someone with one of those conditions may or should opt out but surely that should not mean that they should be refused a transplant should they need one?

After all, a kidney cannot be equated with a garden fork.

Call there is no way on earth that opting out for whatever reason would ever ever deny anyone an organ. It’s honestly not worth even thinking about - it’s a waste of brain activity. Sadly of course in many parts of the world having money will buy you an organ. Thank god we don’t have that ( yet)

Also, if someone is willing and dies, it's wrong their nearest and dearest have a say.

Brigidsdaughter, put yourself in the position of grief stricken parents of a 23 year old young man in ITU after a motorbike accident.

They've been sat at his bedside for days, praying for a miracle which will never come

Then they are asked about organ donation.

Some people will actually suggest it themselves. Many are devastated to discover their loved one's organs can't be retrieved for whatever reason. The vast majority won't be able to donate.

But some families will say no when asked

You think it's right that the state can override that request? I don't think any country behaves in such a way.

This is why it's so tragic with babies and young children who need organs. It's heartbreaking. Poorly children, living their lives in hospital. Their parents desperate for news. Hoping that someone else's catastrophe will save them the heartache.

A child or baby may be clinically dead. The job of the transplant team is bad enough, but with young children exceptionally hard. They aren't going to force the issue.

We can't just harvest organs without the family's consent.

No, I agree it is not worth worrying about suziewoozie as it is never likely to happen.
But the OP seems to feel quite strongly about it.

I think it would be easier not to have to ask the relatives. Easier for the doctors as well as easier for the relatives who won't have to be asked to make a decision at a really bad time

You think it's right that the state can override that request? I don't think any country behaves in such a way.

I think it’s wrong that a family overrides the wishes of the loved one. If someone wants to donate, I don’t feel the family should be able to override

I think it’s wrong that a family overrides the wishes of the loved one. If someone wants to donate, I don’t feel the family should be able to override

That's fine for you to feel that way. I can understand it.

However, it's impossible to know how you'd react unless you experience it.

planete some people believe their bodies should remain intact when they die so they can be resurrected (I am not one of them). Sentimentality has nothing to do with it, it is their body and their choice. I doubt if you would be so glib if someone suggested that you have no rights about something that they felt strongly about.

If they believe that Doodle then their relatives will be able to overrule the opt out. I imagine (although I don’t know about religious practices) that they would refuse donations too?

I agree Septimia, the choice shouldn't be made for us, it should be opt in, not opt out.

How can a body remain intact when in the ground?

However, it's impossible to know how you'd react unless you experience it.

How do you know I haven’t? Don’t be so condescending.

As an adult we get to make the choice to donate organs. I hate that my parents or husband could have overridden my choice. What’s the point in opting in if it doesn’t count?

I feel strongly about this issue having had years longer with loved ones because of transplants.

Anyone who is not prepared to donate their own organs should not be a recipient of a donor organ. That is only fair, after all. What I really object to is the possibility of my family overturning my stated choice of being an organ donor (signed up long ago) if they don't like the idea. If I personally choose to be a donor then nobody, but nobody, should be able to change that!

My late sister who lived in Wales died last year after a very short illness. Because in Wales everyone is considered a donor, her life support was turned off and she was wheeled off to theatre where the transplant team were waiting for her to draw her last breath.
I, who live a three hour drive away wanted to visit her as I hadn't even known she was ill.
I was told I could visit and would be able to see her "afterwards"
I didn't go and she lived on, in a coma for another three days.
I felt that the whole thing was ghoulish, just waiting to take her organs.
She was 66 by the way, so doesn't seem to be an age limit.
That experience has rather turned me off being a donor, although I was a blood donor for forty years.

I’m sorry for your loss Hannah.

Your issue seems to be more of a problem with your sister and her choice not to tell you she was ill and not the donation system.

I wasn't actually referring to you, individually, Summerlove.

I have been involved with transplant teams and a simplistic black and white view is not one that is reached very often.

I've also worked with patients waiting for a transplant. Their attitudes are far more empathetic than many seen on this thread.

As you said it in reply to my comment, I’m sure you can see why it did look as though it was a direct reply to me?

I’m not sure where the empathy is for the potential donor who’s literal last wishes are over ridden.

Agree, and the uses might not be uses I agree with. eg use in military research, transplantation of eg uterus to males. Some will not like experimentation in animals. The opt out needs not to be a blanket one.

Moreover, I don't like the way the human being is becoming a commodity. Buying legs for anatomical dissection? (News item re uni of Sussex). Commercial surrogacy?