The skinny on organ donations: When I worked inside a county trauma center (LA County, California), I learned that designating oneself as an organ donor on ones driver license is primarily a feelgood thingie. Unless the potential donor dies while on life support, the organs are useless as donor organs; only eyes and tissue remain viable donations.
In California, unless things have changed in the last 15 years, another clinker is that the survivor(s) (a loosely defined group) can override the wishes of the deceased and not allow donation of the deceased's organs. The wishes of the survivor(s) take(s) precedence, simply because dead people don't sue but living people do. I have been advised, however, that in some other jurisdictions survivor(s)--even spouses--do not have the last word and would have no cause for action in the event of organ harvest against the wishes of the survivor(s). Perhaps in the ensuing 15 years, California has become so enlightened.
Another point worth noting is that unless the circumstances of ones death are entirely circumspect, one becomes a coroner's case. When a trauma victim or cardiac arrest or such would arrive DOA or die in the trauma unit or elsewhere in the hospital, in must such cases, strict protocols had to be observed. Medical personal could not touch the recently departed--up to and including rummaging through pockets to look for driver licenses or even ID, leaving such tasks to the coroner's deputy or other designated law-enforcement personnel. Even if such were not so, we would still have the organ viability problem I mentioned in the first paragraph.
From the like chicken soup department ("can it hurt?"), my driver license designates me as a donor, with the "any part or organ." box checked.
Holly |
