GOV.UK swells organ donor signups by 10,000 a month This month, GOV.UK is one-year-old. Operated by the Government Digital Service, GOV.UK replaced Direct.gov and a bunch of disparate departmental sites. Anyone who uses the site can testify that it is cleaner than its predecessors, although we have had complaints that some functionality has been lost in the transition. But in …
Long time ago I carried an organ donor card. Then the powers that be changed the rules so if I signed up, my next of kin had no authority to stop doctors choosing to do whatever they wanted. So no more card.
Currently NHS says "healthcare professionals will discuss the matter sensitively with them. They will be encouraged to accept the dead person's wishes and it will be made clear that they do not have the legal right to veto or overrule those wishes".
I'd trust my wife or son to make the decision in difficult circumstances over an NHS professional, however highly paid. This surrendering rights to the state seems all wrong so no organ donation offer from me until my wishes are respected.
I'd trust my wife or son to make the decision in difficult circumstances over an NHS professional, however highly paid. This surrendering rights to the state seems all wrong so no organ donation offer from me until my wishes are respected.
I understand your point, but my take is from a different perspective.
Effectively we're generic bags of meat, what makes us "us" is the bit that dies, I know my wife and kids understand my views about that, so the Doctors can do whatever they want with the bag of meat I leave behind. I won't have any use for it anymore, my wife and kids can't use it either... I did think about leaving it to science, if only to give the scientists a laugh, but I doubt they'll want what's left. So I'll let the Doctors salvage any good parts they can find.
Surely the point about an organ donor card is that it represents what you want to have done with some or all of the body that you leave behind. While I carry a card, I for example have excluded some organs - it's a personal choice.
While I can understand the need to be sensitive with next of kin, they won't own the body when I die - it's not as if I've left it to them in my will....
Perhaps it helps being married to someone with a similar mindset - it means we've discussed it in advance of any such eventuality - and that's probably the real key aspect.
Yeah but one question is at what point you count as dead. I'd rather leave it to my next of kin to decide when to pull the plug, not a government employee who calculates my 20% chance of survival has a cost to the state outweighed by potential financial benefits of helping a younger or richer person via a transplant. Until they remove this conflict of interest and allow my wish to let my next of kin make a judgement, its no organ promises here.
"Then the powers that be changed the rules so if I signed up, my next of kin had no authority to stop doctors choosing to do whatever they wanted."
That's never been true.
"Currently NHS says "healthcare professionals will discuss the matter sensitively with them. They will be encouraged to accept the dead person's wishes and it will be made clear that they do not have the legal right to veto or overrule those wishes".
I'd trust my wife or son to make the decision in difficult circumstances over an NHS professional, however highly paid. This surrendering rights to the state seems all wrong so no organ donation offer from me until my wishes are respected."
That's the point of the card: it's so your previously-expressed wishes come first, ahead of any 'NHS professional'. There's no 'surrendering rights to the state'.
Just out of interest, what sort of 'healthcare professional' are you?
They make a lot of fuss for a department who've only managed to deliver a re-skinned website.
Universal Credit and the Digital Identity Initiative - years late and millions over budget.
Actual savings vs those claimed - no evidence.
New online transactions delivered vs claiming credit for those that predate their involvement (eg DVLA) - nothing yet.
Self-aggrandising PR - lots!
It's in the article:
"I’m currently working at the Ministry of Justice"
And it's in his Bio:
"Currently building a mini @gdsteam within the Ministry of Justice. Previously BERG, Rewired State, Music Hack Day."
And he says it here:
http://blogs.justice.gov.uk/digital/2013/06/weeknotes-june-20th/
I'm sure this won't get in the way of the traditional bashing of GOV.UK, but I just feel it's helpful to have a little accuracy in the article. Possibly articles should be fact-checked by another ElReg journo before posting?
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