You betcha. I have the sticker on my license, I’ve told my family that I basically want to be parted out, and I have a living will with the same instructions.
I have an dear friend who received a liver transplant after a surfing accident (involving an undisclosed raw sewage discharge) pretty much destroyed his liver. Thanks to a stranger and his family, my friend was able to see his young children grow up and to have a nearly normal life.
I have already donated some organs, a couple of spinets, a Moog electric and an old pipe organ from a church.
Oh, that kind…
Yep, they can take what they want. A brother of mine is alive do to the generousity of another, I would like to return the favor.
Yes. I also donate blood regularly and have considered being a bone marrow donor.
If I’m going to be dead, I won’t be able to use any of my bits anyway, and I don’t much care how intact my body is because I plan to be cremated.
You know that’s a strange thing. When my mother died I knew she wanted her organs donated. I, being the oldest, got to fill out all of the paper work. That’s a lot of fun answering questions about her sex life and all. Anyway, I sometimes get letters from the organ recipient. I’ve never known what to do about that and I’ve never written back. I still don’t know if I should write back or not, I don’t know these people at all and honestly don’t want to. I’m glad my mother’s organs helped but that’s about it.
I’m also an organ donor, I see no reason not to be. I hope that I help someone else, but I’m still not going to care. 
Yes, I am.
I never liked the idea before, but I’ve heard this sentiment so many times that it simply reinforces it. I cannot help but interpret it as some sort of backhanded death wish.
Sort of. It’s on my license, and I’ve told my family - but my parents have a bizarre, irrational aversion to organ donation. Evidently, it’s against Jewish tradition. Never mind that it, you know, saves lives - which Jewish tradition also values. So the odds are pretty good that, if I bought it, my parents would order perfectly good organs to be tossed in the ground to rot, instead of saving people from horrible deaths.
Sorry if I sound frustrated about this - my parents are good folks. But this blind spot annoys the heck out of me - when it costs nothing to make a decision that saves lives, making the contrary one strikes me as deeply wrong.
Suppose I’ll just have to stick around for a while, then.
I am, as of February, 2004.
I am and my family completely backs this decision which in my state, is more important than checking your license. Family makes the final decision after all.
FTR, in every hospital that I have worked, a flat EEG was not the ONLY criteria used for brain death.
Yes I am. Whoever gets them will probably do more with them than I ever will.
Yep, ever since I got my driver’s licence. First come, first serve. I’m a teetotaler, too, so these should be some primo guts, too.
(Good luck on the pancreas, though…I’ve got a family history of diabetes. Happy 50th birthday, sucker!)
I’ve been a blood donor for years and an organ donor ever since age 18.
It gives me a sense of control. Dying is totally our of my control, but at least I’ve arranged what I can, and that is a nice feeling. I also feel being an organ donor makes up for some of the shitty things I’ve done in life. Karma points, yeah!
Being an animal rights activist, as well as a control freak, I’ve tried to arrange that anyone receiving a life saving organ from me would repay the favor in kind by becoming either a vegetarian or switching to free range animal products.
I’d really feel cheated if my gift kept a guy alive, easing his suffering, and yet that same guy would afterwards not be willing to pay a few miserable bucks more for his organic meat, to ease the suffering of our fellow mammals on this planet.
Of course, the Dutch donor system (currently still of the “list yourself” type) understandably doesn’t allow to give such preferences any weight. Thank God; I’d hate it if I needed an organ and the donor had demanded that in return, I had to become a religious church goer or vote conservative or whatever. It’s agood thign we can’t rule beyond the grave. Still, I’m gonna ask my NOK to at least tell the recipient that if he wanted to express gratitude, there is a way.
I am an organ donor. I’d really like them to take anything that’s useful and then cremate the rest. That pretty much guarantees I don’t wake up screaming in a coffin. (Ok, that’s not the only reason.) Failing that, I’d like to be sent to a med school as a cadaver.
As an aside, I’ve been present at the beginning of the “harvest” process a couple of times (helping take blood from the brain-dead donor, for tissue typing) and I will say that when I’ve seen it it’s been done really quietly and respectfully.
I’ve been on the organ donor register for years and they’re welcome to any bits of me they want, provided they cremate the rest just to make sure I’m really gone!
Sadly the blood donation service don’t want to know me because my red stuff doesn’t do all it’s meant to so giving it to someone else is kind of pointless.
I’ve been an organ donor since I turned 16. My husband, parents and siblings are all aware of my wishes and (as far as I know) concur.
I don’t, however, donate blood. This is because a) I’m deeply terrified of needles and b) they won’t have my blood anyway (when last I checked I was disqualified from blood donation for what I personally consider a deeply stupid reason).
Can’t hurt to drop a note saying “So glad you are thriving, my mother would have wanted that” if for no other reason than to encourage talking points.
I imagine that the receiver of such a note might just go to work the next day and say “Hey, the surviving family of my organ donor just responded to my thank you letter.” Anything to open a dialogue that might encourage more people to donate.
I’m also the recipient of donor bone, and sent thank you notes for 5 or 6 years, but never expected or hoped for a response. I just felt it necessary to acknowledge the gift, and reassure the family that the choice to help others was the right one.
My smart-ass brain read the thread title and answered, “Well, not yet.”
But yeah, when I don’t need it, and if it’s still any good, harvest it and pass it around.
I’m an organ donor. I really have trouble processing the POV to refrain from being one out of spite. Tough way to live, IMO, but it takes all kinds.
I initially told them they could take major organs but not my skin or eyes, due to the “squicked-out” factor, but then I decided, the hell with it, I’m not going to be using them and someone else might need them, so I’ve signed up whole-hog. (So to speak.)
I still can’t reconcile myself to donating my body to science, even though there’s nothing in my personal Christian beliefs that would preclude it; even though I know it’s for a good cause; and even though, again, I know I won’t care at the time. I just can’t get over the irrational fear of having my remains used disrespectfully, and the irrational distaste for the vulnerability of having my personal sack of meat toted God knows where and cut up or used God knows how or why.
So it’s take what you can for donation, and then cremate the rest. I don’t give a damn what’s done with the ashes.
I would never do it. What if they want it early?
Actually I used to sign the card and donated blood (B+). But I lived in Germany from 1984 til 1986 and the Red Cross is concerned about Mad Cow so they won’t let me donate blood anymore. As a result, I have taken my body out of the harvesting group until they can be sure that I don’t have Mad Cow or CJS or whatever the hell prion based brain melting disease.
On the plus side, anytime I forget a birthday or anniversary, I can blame it on the Mad Cow. I haven’t noticed any problems after 20 years so I don’t think I’m going to have…hav… ha… ack…mm…mmmm…. MOOOOOOOO!!!
I am, it’s been on my license since I was a teenager and I have discussed it with my family. It’s not my place to judge people who don’t donate, but I do feel it’s selfish. I am also on the marrow list.