Future of Health Care: Opt Out Or We'll Take Your Organs (Miami, insurance)

[Free-R]

I was listening to a program discussing the health care law awhile back when I came across this concept. The person speaking seemed to have what I can only describe as a God complex and went on about how great of a thing this would be. The guest speaker was speaking in terms of the American system, but here is an article about proposed legislation in the UK from June 2012.

BBC News - Organ donation: Opt-out bill is published in Wales

It published legislation on Monday to introduce the UK's first opt-out organ donation system. People will be deemed to have consented to becoming donors unless they opt out of the organ donor register.

Officials say that international evidence suggests families are less likely to stop organs being removed in countries with opt out systems.

I can see this type of stuff going forward. Where the government will lay claim to your body just by the virtue of you being born unless you file the necessary paperwork to opt out. With no discussion as to the moral implications of such things. Would you find this acceptable? To take parts from a dead person without their official consent?

[Ceece]

Well....IMO there are no "moral" problems with using anything from a deceased persons body so let's me just put that out there. I suppose if people have particular beliefs of their bodies coming back somehow, or that it needs to be whole for some ruitualistic reasons (which is crazy because some people become "unwhole" when they die anyway) it could be a problem, but only if they never got around to "opting out". We all know opt outs result in MORE OF EVERYTHING than opt ins do becasue folks are just lazy and never get around to doing things.

I'm not saying we should do this, but I'm already a donor so I wouldn't put up a huge fight over it either way.

[BigDGeek]

I don't see the problem. If you don't want your organs to be donated, then you can opt out.

[EmeraldCityWanderer]

I don't agree with opt out organ donation, but are you trying to keep people from even speaking things you don't like?

Aren't you in favor of freedom?

[MetalLord]

Due to our current way of doing things, there is an immense shortage of transplantable organs (which have extremely short shelf lives, I should note), and a very long waiting list full of very ill individuals, most of whom will die.

[GreenGene]

In general, and certainly with organ donation, I favor an opt-in set-up, not opt-out. I believe that it's better that a person choose to participate rather than choosing not to participate.

That said, many years ago I made the choice to be an organ donor.

[hnsq]

Why wouldn't you want to be an organ donor? Why would anyone be selfish enough to throw away something that could potentially save someone else's life after you die?

[Free-R]

Originally Posted by Ceece

Well....IMO there are no "moral" problems with using anything from a deceased persons body so let's me just put that out there. I suppose if people have particular beliefs of their bodies coming back somehow, or that it needs to be whole for some ruitualistic reasons (which is crazy because some people become "unwhole" when they die anyway) it could be a problem, but only if they never got around to "opting out". We all know opt outs result in MORE OF EVERYTHING than opt ins do becasue folks are just lazy and never get around to doing things.

I'm not saying we should do this, but I'm already a donor so I wouldn't put up a huge fight over it either way.

1) You don't know what the dead person's beliefs were. That's the main problem. And he's not talkin'
2) Anyone can already opt in.

We all know opt outs result in MORE OF EVERYTHING than opt ins do becasue folks are just lazy and never get around to doing things.

And that's exactly what they would plan on. I find it disrespectful of the dead and disingenuous when all a person has to do is opt-in.

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I don't see the problem. If you don't want your organs to be donated, then you can opt out.

Again, a person already has a choice to opt in. Why steal their body without their representation?

Originally Posted by EmeraldCityWanderer

I don't agree with opt out organ donation, but are you trying to keep people from even speaking things you don't like?

Aren't you in favor of freedom?

Speak away. I just found it rather disturbing that this person found it okay to basically lay claim to someone's body without asking them and that it shouldn't have been questioned. He at least didn't appear to have any qualms about it.

Originally Posted by hnsq

Why wouldn't you want to be an organ donor? Why would anyone be selfish enough to throw away something that could potentially save someone else's life after you die?

Making the system opt out is selfish. The government, who is very involved in health care, is saying to you that your are to be bought from birth unless you choose to be unbought. You're a piece of property. This type of ownership of your body happens in China. Be that as it may, my main objection is that anyone else has any claim to anyone else's body, dead or alive. Cultures through out history have burial rituals.

[charolastra00]

Not only do I think the system should be opt-out, but I also think that you should be ineligible to receive organs or bone marrow/stem cells unless you are either a minor or are a registered donor (excepting people who are medically ineligible to donate, of course). Organ and tissue donations from live donors needs to be more centralized and efficient as the system now is completely horrendous. I was a potential bone marrow/stem cell donor before I got lymphoma and was faced with the potential of needing a donation myself - and it angers me to no end how many grown adults did not register until I got sick. So many lives are needlessly lost because people do not step up.

Stem cells and bone marrow (increasingly less of the latter) can be given at very little risk or inconvenience to the donor, but there is still a huge shortage. Most of the recipients who die waiting for a bone marrow/stem cell transplant are kids or young adults. People are too lazy or too misinformed about both live and deceased organ and tissue donation to get a simple cheek swab or check a box, so many innocent people die. Opt-out helps everyone, and would also free up space on the organ transplant list by culling those who were not donors before they got sick.

Why should a person who was too selfish to offer to save another life be saved by the selflessness of another?

[HappyTexan]

Many programs are switching to "opt out" rather than "opt in".
Apathy, indifference, laziness and ignorance are being cashed in.

One has to be vigilant now and read everything to make sure what you "think" you're agreeing to really "is" what you are agreeing to.

Banks are using it, your own company may be using it. You now have to take additional steps to opt out and these people are counting on you not to bother. And the majority don't bother.

A lot of state DMV's are going to this as well and you need to opt out of organ donation rather than opt in.

Here's one example:
Citizens’ Targets 200,000 Policies In “Opt Out” Campaign « CBS Miami
Thousand of South Florida homeowners insured by the state-run Citizens’ Property Insurance have gotten a letter from them recently that said they’re coverage had been chosen to be transferred to a private company if they fail to send in a form on time giving them the choice of opting out of the transfer and keeping their existing coverage.