# Organ donation: would this be weird or creepy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 29, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-would-this-be-weird-or-creepy/296727 "2005-03-29T03:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-would-this-be-weird-or-creepy/296727/1 "2005-03-29T03:32:03Z")
Many years ago, I decided to become an organ donor. I see no need for good organs (assuming they’d be good at the time of my demise) to go to waste when I could potentially save several people’s lives. I see stories where people who have received organs have tried to locate the families of the donor. Would it be weird or creepy for me (or anyone) to leave a recorded mesage (made long before the need to do so) telling the potential recipient about myself? People leave video wills and that doesn’t seem to be too strange. It would not be for egotistical reasons. I’d be dead, so my ego would no longer need stroking. The video would only be made available if the recepient requested it, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Sevo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sevo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-would-this-be-weird-or-creepy/296727/2 "2005-03-29T04:01:11Z")
Per my understanding of current organ donation protocols, the recipients are not given much information about the donor and vice-versa. It does become a little creepy and weird the more you know about a donor and his/her family. Recipients are encouraged to accept the gift as exactly that–an anonymous gift left by another person who did a kind thing. I’m not sure if a video recording would be passed on by the organ donation team. But don’t let that discourage you from being a donor! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-would-this-be-weird-or-creepy/296727/3 "2005-03-29T04:05:33Z")
> [@Sevo](#): > > But don’t let that discourage you from being a donor! Not a chance of that. I didn’t know whether or not the recepients were allowed to know where the organ(s) came from. I know I’d be curious to know more about the person who donated an organ to me. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-would-this-be-weird-or-creepy/296727/4 "2005-03-29T04:08:56Z")
If I were to receive an organ, I’d want to know all about the donor and would dig seeing a video of them talking about themself. I think it’s a neat idea. ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-would-this-be-weird-or-creepy/296727/5 "2005-03-29T04:33:05Z")
Especially if you were getting new corneas. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-would-this-be-weird-or-creepy/296727/6 "2005-03-29T05:05:27Z")
> [@Caught@Work](#): > > Especially if you were getting new corneas. Hey, check 'em out ----\> :eek: Do you like what you see, now that you _can_ see?! ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-donation-would-this-be-weird-or-creepy/296727/7 "2005-03-29T07:18:40Z")
I don’t think that it’s creepy at all, but the recipient will never see the tape. [One hospital’s policy:](http://www.utmb.edu/renaltx/cadeval.htm) > [@](#): > > You will not know the name of the donor of a cadaver kidney. The family of the donor will not be told your name by anyone in the transplant program. These rules are strictly enforced to maintain the privacy of both the donor family and the transplant recipient. I could think of a bunch of reasons why it is better that the recipient and donor’s family not know one another: harrassment; failure or early rejection of the organ; unrealistic expectations of the donor family or recipient… the list could go on forever; but the fact is that it just ain’t gonna happen. Privacy will be maintained. That said, I personally might still make the tape, perhaps as part of my will. The recipient(s) may never see it, but it is important to you, and that may be importatnt to your family.