leigh.bess.toad

Been one? No. But if a loved one, friend, family whoever needed an organ (or part of an organ in case of my liver), I'd do it in a heartbeat. There would be no thought, no decision. Like I said, when my father died, he wanted his body donated to the local med school. It was his wishes, my wishes as his only son, that it be done. And it was. It didn't require any thinking. I've made my wishes very and explicitly clear to my next of kin who will have medical power when I'm gone to make the decision. And if my wishes aren't followed, I will haunt them from the grave until they would wish that it was they who were dead. And they know that. Fortunately, they are just as passionate about it as well, so if they were to go first, there will be no thought, no discussion.

Deej -- thanks for tolerating my mini-rant and that's why I stopped where I did. It does belong on another thread. And I agree with you. If some local yokel wants to claim heavenly inspiration from Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Monkeyboy (thanks wwb, I love that), I'm not going to impose my beliefs and say they can't. However, I'm also not going to allow their belief to stop me from calling it stupid, inane, idiotic, and inhuman. Your first amendment right to practice your religion freely does not abridge my first amendment right of free speech to call it crap. And that's the last I'll say about this on this thread. If someone wanted to take it to the proper thread, I'd be happy to go at it there. But as for your friend, I'm so glad that you (and he) have had these 20 years. And it's the family of that 16 year old who are the heros in this. To me the choice is clear: be thoughtless, selfish, unconcerned about the lives of others; or make that one final generous life-affirming decision even as yours is ended. To me it's almost as simple as good versus evil. Right versus wrong. Moral versus immoral. Are you a generous person who cares for the less well off, concerned for people who are suffering, in torment and pain, who don't know from one day to the next if you'll live to see your name finally work its way to the top of the list? Who knows, maybe this philosphy comes from or illuminates my submissive personality, in the sense that I want to serve others, help others. It is the final act of kindness and human love that I can show. And even though I will not see the benefits, I know they will be there for hopefully up to 7 other people, their family, their loved ones. Like you Deej. Who get to revel and rejoice in the presence of their loved one because I wanted them to live, even if I never knew who they were. There can be no greater gift than the gift of life. And if I ever got to the point where I wasn't concerned about the welfare of my fellow man, if my heart ever grew so cold that I wouldn't stop the pain and suffering and torment of my fellow man with an act that will not cost me one dime, then I might as well be dead. Because at that moment, morally, spiritually, ethically, everyway possible I would be dead. And that, azdr is why I don't believe there is a legitimate valid reason for not being an organ donor. So azdr, I'd love to hear where you come out on this when you make your decision. I know it might not seem like a big decision, and a lot of people just blindly check yes or no without thinking. But it may well be one of the most critical decisions you will ever make -- for the lives of those 7 people you may save and the ones that love them.

Yes, deej, some religions do hold that position. But that doesn't make it defensible, at least in my book.; That's a cop-out, and crap, IMHO. Just another example of religions inhumanity towards men. We don't care if you die. too bad. You're out of here. And if your kid grows up with a father or mother, or the kid is the one who dies without a shot a life, hey that's what God wants. Really? I've said enough on this subject. Wrong thread for those opinions. But no, I don't believe there can be ANY valid reason for not being an organ donor. And if by some chance you know that your organs would not be useful to anyone (due to age, disease or other purpose), do the next best thing: donate your body to science. My father wanted his body donated to one of the local med schools. Because doctors need human bodies to learn from. I currently have a front row seat to the benefits of organ donation. But in this case it's a live donor. A co-worker several weeks ago donated one of his kidneys to his father, who had been ill for a long time. The transplant team put my friend through hell just to make sure he really was doing this of his own free will. They also gave him every opportunity to bow out gracefully if he ever changed his mind. But he was firm. And several weeks ago the transplant occured. He's back to work on a limited basis (well he was last week), but he reports is father is doing better than he had in decades. And that's what organ donation is about -- saving and improvig lives. And to do otherwise is criminal, in my book at least.

Jackhammer -- Hope you are doing well. thanks for the lift. "Because chiffon wrinkles too easily???" The idea of seeing Hell's Angels riding down the road in chiffon is such a great mental picture. Thanks for the laughs.

What in the hell kind of doctor did you get to order you that? Does he make house calls (the doctor, not what he ordered -- oh hell, that too)