Criteria for receiving organ transplants

[DesignFox]

I have another important viewpoint. How would, you, as an organ donor, feel about your organs going to a convicted criminal?

In the long run, I suppose you'd be dead so it wouldn't matter...but how would your family feel knowing that the dear person they lost gave their organs up...only to help a criminal?

Regardless how you feel about organ donation in general, don't you think the person doing the donating, or that person's family might, just maybe, want those life saving organs going to someone they can feel happy about having helped?

What about the family of a child on that organ list? How would you feel as that parent, knowing your kid was next in line, but the convicted murderer ahead of you got the transplant first, and your child died?

I hate for people to have to make life deciding choices- especially doctors- who I am sure will want to genuinely do the best they can for their patient regardless of their history- but with limited resources such as organs, they have to go to the person most likely to survive, recover and contribute. I believe that convicted criminals sentenced to life or execution should be at the very bottom of that list.

I'm not saying criminals shouldn't be given medical care. That would be cruel. But expensive and rare life saving treatments? No.

I've got a list of other reasons, but I won't get into those for now.

[joe hx]

What about the family of a child on that organ list? How would you feel as that parent, knowing your kid was next in line, but the convicted murderer ahead of you got the transplant first, and your child died?

If the television shows aren't lying to me, can't someone designate who they're donating to? I see a lot of "I donated my kidney too..." and a recent movie that I won't name had a guy donate his organs to several people after he died.

On a somewhat related note, how many times can an organ be transplanted? I mean, if I die and donate my heart, and then that person eventually dies, can they donate that heart again... and again...?

[HYHYBT]

Kidneys are a bit different: you have two, and only need one. So if you know someone who needs one, and you're a good match, and you're willing to take the risk, you can donate a kidney and live to tell about it.

[linguist]

If the television shows aren't lying to me, can't someone designate who they're donating to? I see a lot of "I donated my kidney too..." and a recent movie that I won't name had a guy donate his organs to several people after he died.

you can; it's called a directed donation. however, there are stipulations. directed donations cannot be exclusionary (i.e., you can't say "i want my organs to go to anyone except x person or x group), and you have to have a specific person named and already be matched prior to harvest. for this reason, directed donations almost always come from live donors (usually kidneys or bone marrow, sometimes pieces of liver). it's extremely rare for a directed donation to be post-mortem.

in the absence of a directed donation contract, harvested organs become the property of the regional organ bank, to distribute as they see fit.