Nurses and Organ Donation

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I am curious about what nurses think of this personal choice.

Do you want your organs donated, assuming they are viable, after your death? What about the organs of a loved one (if they had left no instructions)?

Does anyone think nurses (and other HCPs) should become organ donors to show an example to the public?

What do you think?

Please note: No, I am not asking if nurses should HAVE to donate organs.

Sooooo many misconceptions here, and although most have been addressed, my OCD won't let me leave it alone! LOL! [snip]

Thank you for a very educational, very thought-provoking post. My critical-care lecture instructor (a person I admire greatly on several levels) was big into these issues, and gave us a very good lecture on this during our class. From what I remember, it was very much in line with what you are saying. She was very passionate about this issue, and I guarantee I would be in for a stern talking-to were I to express this opinion to her.

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What I don't understand about this - you don't get paid to NOT donate, so how is not getting paid TO donate any different for the family left behind... know what I mean? It's not like you'd be missing out on any money for them by donating. I think I'd consider it a gift richer than money to my family if I ever donated that they would always have that consolation that my death was not in vain.

For the same reason that my car will not be donated to charity when I die: it will be for my wife, to use or sell at her discretion. To put it bluntly: consolation does'nt pay bills, and it doesn't buy food. I realize that it is academic at this point, i.e. the choice is either donate or don't. Reimbursement is not even an option, so why am I hung up on it?

BTW - I don't know that everyone understand how rare it is to be in a position to donate organs. You really have to have a "perfect storm" of conditions to be eligible to donate - injuries that are not consistent with life, but have not significantly damaged the organs you're talking about. Being listed as an organ donor doesn't mean you'll necessarily be in that position.
As I allude to above, this is mainly a position of principal for me. I appreciate that it is an unpopular principal, apparently moreso because I don't pretend a religious rationale, but an utterly mercenary one.

I do not have "disdain" for people who do not want to donate for any reason. I think I am passionate about it because I work everyday with both candidates and recipients. After caring for children from 10 weeks old to teenage who were able to have a new, healthy life after receiving an organ - it just seems like magic.
I am "pro-choice" to the extreme. My body, my choice. And just as there will always be some who would choose to donate their organs even if reimbursement was available, there should likewise be some sort of marketplace available for those of us that want our loved ones to receive, if not "fair market value," than at least some final *tangible* benefit from our last (and perhaps only true) possession. Again, this need not be cold, hard cash from the recipient's family. Something along the lines of paying (at least part of) the final medical bills, heck, even a "organ donation tax credit" would work towards swaying me. The entire "give it away, or forget it" philosophy just rubs me the wrong way.
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Specializes in Operating Room.
Agreed. I see that a lot here on allnurses. People post their opinions, and then lash out if someone has an opinion different from their own.

I also thought being on a discussion board implied that a discussion would ensue...

I'll go one step further on the organ donation situation:

People who say that they'll never donate, but would consider accepting donations are selfish hypocrites.

Discussion I have no problem with..I have a problem with the self-righteous posts that state that they don't understand how anyone doesn't want to donate or implying that those who choose not to be an organ donor are ignorant, selfish etc. That is uncalled for.

The OP asked how we felt about the issue and people have been stating their opinion. And again, you can think I'm selfish, you can think I'm a hypocrite. Whatever. My main point is that your opinion of me doesn't matter, your opinion of my opinion doesn't matter, LOL.

I stand by what I posted, no one here should have to be put on the defensive because they don't tow the party line regarding this topic. Like I said, I am very vocal about my reasons for not donating..others may be more reserved about it. And mature discussion is one thing, name calling is another.

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The first step of any process is assessment and understanding the rationale... how will we ever increase organ donor rates if we do not understand why people refuse to consider it?

If someone is well-informed and chooses not to donate, then that's fine. But if they are refusing out of ignorance of the facts, I don't think it's pushy or unreasonable to set them straight. Changing their mind is not my goal; facilitating an informed decision is.

I agree with this. I have a coworker (office setting - I'm pre-nursing while working full time) with HepC that once said he wouldn't donate. It wasn't until I mentioned that many HepC patients are on the donor list waiting for other organs that I said he would consider it for those patients. If he could be convinced that any eligible patient would be fully informed of his HepC status, and allowed to decide for themselves, I think he would be happy to donate. I know that he would be quite thankful to accept if ever the need arised. His refusal or hesitation to donate is 100% in fear of passing his health problems to the next person.

There was a time, up until 5 years ago, that I wanted everything except my eyes donated. I was also (and still am) skeptical about my pancreas. I have very specific reasons for this!!! I have a long standing family history of diabetes. While I do not have it (thankfully) and hope to avoid it, I would not be comfortable with someone receiving my pancreas and ultimately getting adult onset (40-50 yrs old in my family) diabetes. I have taken care of my body and do not have all of the other "problems" my family has, but still... there is always the concern. My eyes... that's a different one. Up until 4-5 years ago, I was legally blind without contacts (20/1,000 vs 20/20). In late 2004 (Oct), a new eye surgery was approved by FDA - intraocular implants. I had it done in December 2004. My vision is now 20/20. Prior to the surgery, I felt that my eyes were defective and that no one would want them, therefore I registered that my eyes were NOT to be donated and my family was informed. Now, I feel that if someone needs them, fine... more than likely only the cornea will be taken anyway. My family and future husband are aware of this and fully supportive.

I've also known families that would refuse that the eyes be donated, but other organs were ok... this was because they believed the eyes were the "essence" of the soul.

No matter what, we should investigate the reasoning behind a "no donation" answer. If the reason is religious or personal, let it be and do not push them further. If their reason is due to fear of death, fear of pain or fear of passing along a "defective" organ... give them more information. Give them the power to make a decision based on facts, not on fear. Sometimes just easing their fears will go a long way.

Also, I'm a converted Jew (reform or conservative, depending on how you define it)... and while I would never get a tattoo (both religious and personal reasons), I would still donate my organs. I've discussed this with my rabbi and he encourages me to GIVE my organs to someone in need, just as I would give food, clothes or money to someone in need.

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Specializes in Operating Room.
I am absolutely a donor, and my family, every other nurse in the neuro/trauma ICU (my place of employment) and the three organ procurement coordinators in our area know it.

Sooooo many misconceptions here, and although most have been addressed, my OCD won't let me leave it alone! LOL!

We are not allowed to initiate OPO contact until the GCS has reached 4 (?). Same criteria applies for EMS transport into the ER - I work there, too. If they are in the unit for another case, and I know a certain case is heading south, quick, I have been known to give them a "heads up" so they can plan their staffing, but that's because I know them as people, and know they would never do anything disrespectful. They do not review records or any kind of patient data until the GCS is 4, though.

Our OPO is very respectful. We can't mention donation to the families...and if they bring it up to us, we have been CAREFULLY schooled on what to say, "I understand you have questions, but I'm not the best person to answer them. Why don't I call someone to come talk with you who can answer all your questions completely?"

At that point, if they still want to talk to someone, we can call OPO, and they'll come talk with them, but if the patient does NOT meet criteria, all they do is answer questions, with the very clearly understood caveat that all this is non-applicable currently, and it's only a question and answer session.

These are not organization or facility-specific guidelines. These are federal UNOS guidelines, and if the OPO's and hospitals want to continue to recieve federal money, they will follow them to the letter. Period. The End. UNOS does not play about this - there was an OPO that got shut down for not following them last year.

As someone already mentioned, it is almost a 2-day process, after pronouncement. In my state, there has to be either a negative radionucleotide flow study or two attending physician's clinical exams, 24-hours apart, and one of them must be either a neurologist, neurosurgeon or trauma surgeon.

There is no "we don't take as good care of you if you're an organ donor". That's crap. We go balls to the wall until we see Beck's Triad - seen too many come back from the brink not to give them every chance possible.

As for DCD, the last one I participated in, the young man was horrifically brain injured, but the stem was intact. He would never know who he was, who anyone was, or have any kind of quality of life again. His cerebral cortex and much of upper cerebellum was mush. It was awful.

His mother, God bless her, knew he wouldn't have wanted to be like that. He had been my patient for 3 days, trying everything we knew to improve his situation, but after we saw that MRI, we knew it was not gonna happen. She consented, we took him to the OR, the trauma surgeon extubated, we gave a little morphine (4 mg, hardly a lethal dose) and the OPO coordinator leaned down, and started softly talking to him...telling him how much his mother and girlfriend loved him...telling him it was OK to let go...assuring him his loved ones would be OK...then she softly sang to him, stroking his forehead the whole time. It was the sweetest, most tender thing I have ever seen, and I have tears in my eyes now, just like I did then. He died peacefully within 10 minutes.

The transplant surgeons were not in the room until a full 5 minutes after asystole. They were VERY conscious of this, and the trauma surgeon was the one who pronounced him.

Nobody did a damn thing to hasten this poor boy's death. Those who talk about doing that with a "wink and a nod" should be flogged.

I encourage those who have "heard" things about organ donation to educate yourself. Ask to shadow an OPO coordinator for a day. Most of them would love it.

It remains a personal choice, though, and I do fully respect those who choose not to. I may not understand it, but it is my professional duty to respect their wishes.

It's good that you've had nice experiences with DCD and not pressuring families about donating. My experiences have not been similar.

My friend's son(24 years old) had a brain injury but was not brain dead..he was ventilated. Almost immediately, the organ bank people showed up. She got pressure from some of the physicians to take him off the ventilator so they could do a DCD procurement. Finally, she basically told them to shove off. This young man recovered-yes, he has some issues. But he lives independently, has a good job and a girlfriend. He's living his life. I already told the story about how they do DCD's in my hospital. They are very assertive about the whole process-you come in as a trauma, and they start hovering.

The good thing that has come out of my bad experiences is that I am very vocal about just how unethical these DCDs can be..I was not aware of them until I started working at my current facility. Most of the public is not aware of them. Almost without exception, people cannot believe that these are allowed to happen. So, I am educating people. I let them know that they don't have to be pressured into donating, that it is THEIR decision. That it's OK if they don't feel comfortable with the whole scenario. Obviously, I don't say this to a grieving family..I'm talking about educating people before they are ever in that situation.

I'm sure people think that I'm scaremongering. I'm not. I just lay out what exactly happens in some of these cases. I had mentioned earlier that my state was offering $200 for people to put organ donor stickers on their license. My hospital is in a poorer area and most of the people who showed up were young adults, many of them CNAs, orderlies, housekeepers from my facility. After hearing about what exactly happens, 4 of them had their status switched from donor to non-donor.:yeah: Ultimately,they did stop with the cash-for-organs thing because an advocacy group complained.

I think I'm done now, because I had a sneaking suspicion that those who voiced the unpopular opinion were going to get grief. I think the important thing is that people get to make decisions about their bodies, their death process etc without being vilified. Thanks for listening.

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For the same reason that my car will not be donated to charity when I die: it will be for my wife, to use or sell at her discretion.

So..... do you think by not donating your wife can sell your organs? Or use them her self? I doubt this is what you ment, so that is a poor analogy. I hope you mean the desicion will be up to your wife, but again, I don't think that's what you were getting at.

Frankly, and I apologize in advance, but this is a disgusting opinion. You will only donate organs if someone will reward you for it. That sentament makes me sick to my stomach.

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Specializes in ICU.

I think the important thing is that people get to make decisions about their bodies, their death process etc without being vilified.

:up: I agree completely!

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Exactly. People have the right to keep their own organs. It is a personal choice, and I have no right to tell them what to do.
This is the reason I could never support an 'opt-out' system for organ donations. I don't have to opt-out of being a registered voter or joining the military, I shouldn't have to take steps to defend my right to keep my organs.

My friend's son(24 years old) had a brain injury but was not brain dead..he was ventilated. Almost immediately, the organ bank people showed up. She got pressure from some of the physicians to take him off the ventilator so they could do a DCD procurement. Finally, she basically told them to shove off. This young man recovered-yes, he has some issues. But he lives independently, has a good job and a girlfriend. He's living his life. I already told the story about how they do DCD's in my hospital. They are very assertive about the whole process-you come in as a trauma, and they start hovering.

I had a very similar experience when my then-13 year old son sustained a serious head injury. My feelings toward organ donation/transplants was formed well before his accident so our treatment is not a factor in my opinions.

After a lot of hard work and years of rehab my son is now a 25 year old college student with a 3.5 GPA with no special accommodations.

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Specializes in CTICU.

I did not see any name calling. Calling someone hypocritical or selfish is not calling them a "name". It's no different than you saying that my post was "self righteous" - it honestly wasn't.

I did not berate you for your opinion, you're welcome to it. Saying that I do not understand the reasons and asking for clarification is hardly "villification".

The poster mentioning "selfish and hypocritical" was not talking about people who don't donate, but those who don't donate but will accept organs. Maybe harsh, but I agree. It's no different than someone never giving to charity, and then turning up with their hand out for help.

It's easy to see why discussing organ donation is hard - people get on the defensive so easily.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
the OPO coordinator leaned down, and started softly talking to him...telling him how much his mother and girlfriend loved him...telling him it was OK to let go...assuring him his loved ones would be OK...then she softly sang to him, stroking his forehead the whole time. It was the sweetest, most tender thing I have ever seen, and I have tears in my eyes now, just like I did then. He died peacefully within 10 minutes.

Sorry, I didn't read that scene the same way. You thought it was "beautiful". But if that was my son, that should be me stroking his head, not some stranger.

And you think that's selfish?

I disagree.

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you know, after reading some of these posts about the hovering, the pressure to donate...

i honestly don't know how i'd respond if i felt i was being bullied or coerced.

i've stated that i am an organ donor, w/o hesitation.

but - and that's a big BUT, i can see myself rebelling against those who would try to pressure me, and tell them to forget the whole thing.

i truly am appalled that people would be so insensitive and aggressive...

and could feasibly result in the authorities reneging on any prior intentions.

for those of you who have experienced this very situation, all i can say is, i don't blame you one bit!:icon_hug:

and, i'm sorry.

leslie

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Sorry, I didn't read that scene the same way. You thought it was "beautiful". But if that was my son, that should be me stroking his head, not some stranger.

And you think that's selfish?

I disagree.

i'm assuming (yes, i know...:)) that mom or dad weren't there.

i just can't imagine such a scenario, w/parent(s)/spouse present.

leslie

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