13.02.12
Giving it up
New measures to increase organ donation are often considered with fear and opposition. As a society we are squeamish around death and dislike the thought of parts of our bodies being taken, even if this would benefit others.
But while we dance around the subject, thousands are dying. The BMA has suggested a range of options to improve our donation rates, and while some of these may border on public levels of acceptability, it is important to raise the issues for discussion.
We have the capability to significantly increase donation levels, but this potential is massively underused. The ethics may be questionable, but allowing people to die when we have the power to save them is clearly wrong.
As well as the trickier proposals, there are many forms of action that could be taken without opposition. Raising awareness, asking relatives of dying patients whether they would donate and slightly increasing the eligibility of donors would all benefit those in need.
The sooner we begin to openly discuss these issues, the closer we get to a much higher level of consent and more organs available for donation.
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