Organ Donation – Part 2
Answering the following issues to do with organ donation:
- might my body be used as a teaching tool for medical students?
- should I register as a donor even if I believe that my age, lifestyle or medical condition might make my organs unusable?
- if I’m passionate about my viable organs saving lives after I’m done with them, should I also put that wish in my will? What about in my representation agreement? Is there anything else I can do?
This is the second and final column in my two-part series about organ donation.
Last week I covered how quick and easy it is to register. I also provided reassurance that your organs will not be taken until you’re truly done using them yourself!
Remaining issues I address this week:
- Might my body be used as a teaching tool for medical students?
- Should I register as a donor even if I believe that my age, lifestyle or medical condition might make my organs unusable?
- If I’m passionate about my viable organs saving lives after I’m done with them, should I also put that wish in my will? What about in my representation agreement? Is there anything else I can do?
Might my body be used as a teaching tool for medical students?
That won’t happen. It cannot.
Your gift of registering as an organ donor is completely independent and separate from the University of British Columbia Body Donation Program.
It is, in fact, impossible to donate your body through BC Transplant.
Registering as an organ donor allows one thing and one thing only: the transplantation of your organs and tissues into the body of another living person who needs them.
I do encourage you, though, to consider making the separate gift of your body to the Body Donation Program because it’s a program that helps train life-saving medical professionals. You can find their web page to learn about it by using “UBC Body Donation Program” as a browser search.
Should I register as a donor even if I believe that my age, lifestyle or medical condition might make my organs unusable?
Yes, please!
BC Transplant’s plea is that everyone should register their decision on organ donation.
No one is automatically excluded, not even if you’ve battled cancer, are taking medication for HIV, have diabetes, heart disease, etc., etc.
Leave it up to the medical specialists who will determine, after your death, if your organs and tissues are suitable for transplantation.
BC Transplant also emphasizes that donation decisions are not affected by sexual orientation or gender identity, indicating: “Who you love or how you identify does not impact your ability to give the gift of life”.
An e-mail from a reader: “Can I still offer my organs at age 86?”. Absolutely! A quick internet search will reveal Nebraska veteran Dale Steele who recently became an organ donor when he passed away at age 100.
There are some age limitations, but with ongoing medical advances, that changes over time. So that’s why everyone should register their decision, regardless of age. What is accepted clinical practice today may be different in the future.
If I’m passionate about my viable organs saving lives after I’m done with them, should I also put that wish in my will? What about in my representation agreement? Is there anything else I can do?
Here’s the kicker: your organ donation decision can be overridden by your next of kin.
If you’re passionate about your viable organs saving lives, do anything you can to convince your next-of-kin against vetoing your decision when the time comes.
This can be tricky, though. You don’t know, today, who your next of kin will be at some point in the hopefully distant future when you die.
BC Transplant has a brilliant fix that I referred to in last week’s column. Their online registration form includes a textbox where you can type a message to be presented to your next of kin at the time of donation.
Put your passionate plea in that text box. Your words will be shared with whoever happens to be your next-of-kin at the critical time.
The text box accommodates up to 2,000 characters, which is approximately 330 words.
Want help crafting your message? Call on an AI chatbot! Could there be a better use for artificial intelligence? Here’s a prompt you could use: “I am passionate about ensuring that my next-of-kin won’t veto my decision to save lives by being an organ donor. Write me a compelling message of up to 2000 characters to be given to them at the time of my death.”
There’s no need to include your organ donation wishes in your will or representation agreement. But doing so won’t do any harm and can help raise awareness of your wishes with those most likely to have the ability to veto your decision.
Consider being an advocate for organ donation among those close to you. Tell them about the decision you made and encourage them to do the same.
If you’re unsure about whether you’ve already registered as an organ donor, or about the choices you made, the easy route is to re-register. Your new registration will override any previous one.
If you’d like to see your actual registration, you can download it through your Health Gateway, logging in with your BC Services Card. The BC Transplant website has a link to assist you with that.
