Ozmodan wrote on May 1, 2012, 19:02:
You know there is another side of organ donation. It is no panacea for people receiving because they can count on a lifetime of sickness after the transplant, drugs that keep the body from rejecting the organ also make the immune system useless.
I have seen it first hand, personally would not want anyone to suffer like that, I just don't believe in organ donation at all.
I guess it varies from case to case. I am a kidney recipient, what you say about the anti-immune drugs is definitely true but in my case my general level of health is not too bad now. Given that the alternative was to not be around any more, I am glad my surgeon believed in donation! Also the technology is progressing, some variation on stem cells will most likely allow to grow organs that will not be rejected and won't require the worst of the tablets we have now.
As for waiting lists, I was lucky in that my dad was a match so I didn't make use of a public list. Here in the UK the stats are not good for waiting for a publicly sourced kidney, it's usually measured in years unless you are very lucky. I suppose anything that makes it easier to find a donor is a good thing although I hesitate at the prospect of letting any commercial entity be a part of the process, particularly one that is hellbent on the commoditisation of its users. Just a regular government-lead opt out system would seem best to me.