Organ Donation

In Bioethics class this morning Dave Gushee had some interesting points to ponder.



I learned that the first attempts at organ transplants happened in ancient Egypt with animal organs. I had no idea!



I also learned that the central underlying principals in the federal laws and cultural aspects of organ donation include respecting the prior wishes of donor and wishes of the family. I learned that organ donation is encouraged and society "honors" it. Laws forbid harming oneself to donate organs and also that fairness is used in determining who gets the donated organs, that organs are not for the rich and/or famous, they are for the patient in most medical need.



It really got interesting when considering the moral and theological implications of transplantation. He talked about the violation of the dignity and integrity of the dead body, concern about the resurrected body, how donation is an alruistic act of love, and about the "shudder" factor.



Gushee told us that there is a desire for people to honor the dead with a proper burial. He said that all we can do for a loved one after they die is care for their body. In his studies and writings about the Holocaust in Germany during WWII, he learned that the jews have the most difficulty with the fact that the bodies of those who died were not taken care of and that they were simply thrown together into piles and mass graves. There was no dignity in their "burial". I thought that was an interesting point to learn. It also reminded me about that scene in "Amadeus" when Wolfgang died and was tossed into an unmarked mass grave. There is something "not right" about that. I never really considered it before, but Gushee was right, the only thing we can do for a loved one after they die is care for their body. It made me think about how Jesus' body was cared for after his death as well.



Some people have a concern about the resurrected body. People wonder if they will need all their parts?! LOL Gushee made us all laugh with the way he asked this question "When the roll is called up yonder will I need most of me to be there?" LOL I figure God creates something from nothing, so I'm not too worried that this would be any sort of problem for me. Afterall, don't we all just decay into nothing in our graves anyway?



Donation is an act of love. It is a very unselfish act. Some are living donors who give away a kidney to family members, friends, and sometimes even strangers. I wrote in my notes while I pondered donation of my body parts after death, if it is really an unselfish act?...afterall, I'll be dead. It's like giving away a toy after you have outgrown it and gotten tired of it. You aren't using it anymore, might as well give it to someone who will. Living donors to me are the epitome of unselfish love. My best friend from high school shared this once about her parents. Her dad, a retired Disciples of Christ minister, has suffered with kidney problems over the years and a few years ago, her mom donated one of her kidneys to him. It blows me away! God blessed that as well because both are doing well. Her dad still is weak and ill, but has enjoyed a quality of life over the years, given him through the love and donation of his wife. That's cool!



Then I learned about the "shudder" factor, sometimes called the "yuck" factor. Gushee wanted us to understand what Meilaender, author of the Bioethics book we are reading and studying from, meant by this. Meilaender wants us to consider why we have something in us that hesitates at organ donation. Why we "shudder" when we think about the body and death and donation. Why we cringe when we see roadkill. It isn't always because it's gross, but that we recognize that it was once a living breathing being, running around in the world. Now it is dead. A carcass. Why is it that we hesitate? Could it be that there is a sliver of morality in us that considers it wrong or inappropriate to tamper with a dead body? He wasn't answering the question, but simply pointing out that there really may be a legitimate reason we "shudder", or hesitate, when we consider organ donation.



We also discussed other concerns about organ donation. Some fear that organ donation may create a "black market" of organ parts that people sell for money. That doctors might even hasten death to an individual in order to harvest organs. That like in John Q, people would kill themselves in order to save a loved one. We talked about a death row inmate that recieved a heart transplant in recent past. We discussed many other issues and it made for some interesting stuff.



Oh, one more thing. Gushee was talking about the fact that organ donation is encouraged and that more than 82,000 people are awaiting donations in the world today. It is because of these large numbers of people waiting that health care workers strongly encourage donation. We are led to believe that there is a "shortage" of parts. Won't there always be a shortage of parts? Gushee said that what we have is a "mortality surplus".



I have so much enjoyed the balanced way Gushee presents stuff in this bioethics class. He has really made me think about things.



I signed my donor card a long time ago. I love the fact that after I am dead other people may actually benefit from my parts...at least what will still be usable. Skin for someone who had theirs burned off, eyes so someone might see, heart for someone whose no longer beats, who knows whatever else can be used. I think just about everything but maybe my pinky toe! I plan to be resurrected and trust that God will give me a new body!