Is anyone an organ donor?

KirstenRN6 · July 11, 2008

I am definitely a donor! What your dietician has told you is very misleading. I'm a nurse and work in an ICU. I quite frequently work side by side with organ donation coordinators. A patient is not considered to be a candidate for organ donation until they are termed "brain dead", meaning there is no brain activity, and the only thing that is keep then alive is a ventilator. Also not everyone is a candidate for organ donation either, even if that person wanted to be. The patient must meet very strict guidelines in order to be considered at the time of donation. At no time in my nursing career have I ever asked to see a patients organ donation card. What we do ask for is a copy of their "do not resuscitate" orders. That just means that particular person has chosen not to be put on life support or have CPR performed on them for one reason or another. In any case, healthcare workers will do everything possible to save your life (donor or not), so don't worry about that.

Overall, one of my greatest joys in my nursing career is to hear of the amazing miracles of where organs have gone and the lives they have saved. The travesty of losing a patient is never easy, but knowing that a part of them still lives on, is an amazing thing!

MelissaH · July 11, 2008

DH & I were just talking about this today - I'm an organ donor, but he isn't...I'm trying to sway him though. THe only thing I dont want harvested are my eyes because that creeps me out.

junebride2b · July 11, 2008

I am organ donor...not a Dr or nurse but my brother passed away 2 years ago while waiting to get a new kidney and pancrease. It was heartbreaking that he sat on the donor list for over a year. So I tell everyone I know to participate. I would hope it wouldn't interfere with medical treatment!

amandalovesryan · July 11, 2008

i am a nurse and agree with sarah and Kirsten. I have never asked a pt if they are donors. The only thing I care about is whether or not they are DNRs.

MarieSam · July 11, 2008

I echo everyone's sentiments that it is totally absurd that your nutrionist would say something like that to you. Coming from a family of nurses and health care professionals, and FI's lineage of doctors and surgeons, I have heard so many good things about what organ donation can do for individuals in need and how it helps medical research in general.

Now the one thing that I did hear from my uncle ex-wife who is an ER nurse, is that the process of taking a deceased person's organs can be pretty rash and brutal. She said the organs are removed quickly and the person's body is pretty much laying there like it had just been attacked by vultures. But I can understand that it's a rushed process because I can't imagine that you can take your time to preserve organs.

Nevertheless, if I'm dead then why the heck do I need my organs anyways? I'd feel much better knowing my "parts" are possibly saving the life of someone in need.

StephanieMN · July 11, 2008

I have to add that when I first saw the title of this that you were asking someone to donate an organ

Now I have heard of asking for people to vote for their cute baby or donate money to a sick member but this was new to me. LOL!

Love what everyone has said so far. Makes me feel more at ease knowing that if the doctor notices I am a donor she isn't going to call her daughter up to see if she would like blue eyes instead of brown.

MarieSam · July 11, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by StephanieMN

Makes me feel more at ease knowing that if the doctor notices I am a donor she isn't going to call her daughter up to see if she would like blue eyes instead of brown.

haha, I'm so exhausted and coming off the tail end of a long overnight shift, but that sentence made me laugh out so loud. lol.

Maura · July 11, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by KirstenRN6

Also not everyone is a candidate for organ donation either, even if that person wanted to be. The patient must meet very strict guidelines in order to be considered at the time of donation.

Thanks for mentioning this Kirsten - I often get shit from people because I am not an organ donor. It's not because I don't want to be (although the idea creeps me out a bit), it's because I have a medical history (both meds that did some damage to organs and a rare genetic disorder) that prevents me from donating.

Also, I think it's interesting that some cultures/religions do not allow you to be an organ donor because you must be buried "whole" so to speak.

RaydensMama · July 11, 2008

Wow that nutritionist sounds like a nut case! I couldnt imagine someone actually saying something like that to me! I am a donor, as are all of my family members, including my sister who is a nurse. I cant see the point of not donating (unless you have a reason like Maura) because really why do you need your organs when you are dead It just baffles my mind that people can be that uneducated and ignorant to such an important thing like organ donation. Sorry this just totally blew my mind!!