Organ Donation

To my understanding, many body parts do get worn down with time to the point of unusable for transplantation. But some organs can still remain viable depending on the final cause of death.

I'm not yet up to 75+ but as a good friend of mine said at his wedding "I'm not a spring chicken." I fully intend for my remains to be used by first the medical and then the scientific community in any way that can help. While I have a mild preference to directly save a life, I do not want any part to rot or burn that can be used by somebody to learn or assist.

Be well my friend.

My thoughts completely.

Maybe they will sell them discounted, or use them on 75 plus victims too. If you want to deliver a good product take care of yourself or have someone do it for you. The other alternative is to go for it when you are young, than you'll have a more beautiful corpse too.

Even if your parts are worn out, your body can still be used to teach young surgeons etc. important things about anatomy, surgical procedures, etc. and the knowledge that they garner from your donated body could eventually help thousands. My dad passed away a couple of years ago and donated his body for parts/research and I am doing the same.

It's called the anatomical gift program.

"If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I'da taken better care of myself". Eubie Blake

I as well have donated my body to science. However I am aware that this provides some motives to kill me.

My motive was to save costs for whomever might survive me. I hear that my body is not really of any particular value.

Far as I know the only consistently valuable organs are my eyes, and just parts of them.

Possibly I ought to just resign myself to becoming pig and chicken food, since once I am deader than beef, I ought not have any expectations of control over my body, one way or another.

I believe it's the case that over 50 most of your organs are considered less suitable for transplant - prone to failure. However dvmdsc is correct, traffickers will happily sell em anyway - discounted or not.

Will I have to take a bath first?

My concern is: as I get older, (75+) are my parts still usable or are they considered worn out and worthless?

Answer: It depends. The organ donation website makes the point that you are never too old to donate. It depends on how you treated your organs. Someone who is young with a history of alcoholism will have a worse liver than a person who is older and never drank to excess. The site also goes on to point out that even though the organ might be "less than ideal," that it can still be used to save a life... even if it is later transplanted out for a more suitable organ.

Don't make your age the reason why you don't want to donate an organ. The need is too great.

Check out some blog entries I have written:

Giving an Organ to Save a Life

Diseases That Result in Organ Donation – Heart, Lung, and Intestine

Diseases That Result in Organ Donation – Liver, Kidneys, and Pancreas

The Waiting List & Life After the Transplant

Transplant surgeons are reputed to love Spring.... All those healthy young people riding motorbikes.. Donors on wheels.

No soup for you!

Ron, there might be hope yet for you...

http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/12945/Old-Livers-Made-New-Again?frmtrk=CR4digest

And with this stuff, they won't have to ship it by charter aircraft... they can ship it UPS Ground...

http://singularityhub.com/2010/05/05/harvard-can-preserve-organs-for-10-days-restarts-heart-outside-body-video/#more-16049

One drunk in a bar says to another "If I die before you, you can have my liver."

This question arose frequently when I was at work (consultant in intensive care in the UK). The most difficult problem was first to obtain permission from the relatives. After that we called the transplant team, to discuss the particular clinical situation. There are always organs like corneas and bone which can be considered at any age, but clearly hearts from individuals with even mild hypertension may be unsuitable. It is also worth pointing out that even a young donor may become unsuitable after a delay. After a head injury, for example, some dramatic changes in the circulation may occur which make it difficult for the heart to be preserved. For US readers, a good starting point for information is http://www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/fs_new/25factsorgdon&trans.cfm

I would kind of like to donate my brain.

Up to date, I do not think that anyone with a dead brain would like to have anothers brain: it does not boot and cannot be changed to suit!!!

ronseto,

You have two excellently inspirational reasons in the responses fron phph001 and peterg7lgy to continue in the vein of making your body available 'post mortem'.

As an engineer I applaud any attempt to extend useful life and whether it be with recycling non-biological or biological parts we should endeavour to do it. I would think that even a less than perfect liver would be extremely attractive to someone with a completely knackered (non medical terminology) one.

I suspect that as time passes that the 'harvesting' (peculiar expression, perhaps salvaging) of body parts will become more prevalent and also more acceptable.The bio-scientists are pushing the boundaries of medical science all the time and gifting your ,fresh, remains with explicit instructions as to the purposes to which it may be used could also help with research. (at 95+ even your favourite burger bar might baulk at the offer)

Do not under-estimate the value of your freshly expired cadaver, as long as all know your wishes ,clearly set down beforehand, as a 'living will'.

Massey.

Massey, As time passes the harvesting/salvaging of body parts from donors will become obsolete.

The new technologies involving (a) 3D printers and (b) regenerative medicine and (c) pleuripotent somatic stem cell techniques will, much sooner than you think, make it possible for the person in need to have an organ made from his/her own cells, with no compatibility or rejection issues, no anti-rejection drugs, etc etc. MANY advantages over the present system or any system involving the organs of a donor.

it is also possible that organs from ANYONE, not just carefully matched donors, could be stripped down to their collagen scaffolding and re-seeded with the recipient's own cells and a new organ grown from the skeleton of the old. no rejection possible then.

Unfortunately, the approach involving a stripping and rebooting of someone else's organs does not address the problem that there is a serious limit to the supply of other people's organs (except for Roneseto's et al).

The fact that demand presently exceeds supply is feeding a really foul transnational criminal industry enslaving and trafficking people and organs.

One of the few arguments of self-interest to persuade an organ seeking person not to go the illegal route, is that the trafficked organs typically come from impoverished, unhealthy people. The "organ-stripping" technique would simply facilitate the exploitation of the organs of the most vulnerable people on earth by these liver-sucking pigs, pardon me.

Other techniques allow you to grow your own organs, without buying stealing or begging any parts from others whatsoever. They will put organ traffickers out of business. Options that keep them in business... suck, relatively speaking.

not really, because you can take a dead organ from a cadaver and strip it and repopulate the skeleton with the recipient's cells, as long as the collagen is still intact. That would expand the available organ base immensely.

Since cadaver parts are already a lucrative part of the illegal trade, I don't agree. The parts are stolen for the trade - the technique of stripping would simply add value without addressing the criminal issues.

Obviously if more people donated their organs after death, that would decrease the criminal problem as well. But the technologies that make organ donors completely unnecessary are really the best solution to the problem.

The organ "scaffold" from a deceased person is not likely to be any better than an artificial scaffold - built from your own cells, as in the 3D printing techniques, you have a fresh, living, guaranteed compatible scaffold - why would you want some old crap from a dead person in the mix?

I admire your intention Ronseto and it's mine also. I'm 10 years down the road past you but as long as I can continue playing tennis I think the parts will be usable. I had my rotator cuff repaired last September so it has a brand new warranty. Don't think of the parts as worn out and useless...they're just nicely broken in and road tested! Good luck and keep on a-truckin'. Lou Bindner

Ronsetto & all,

While my original posting still remains true to me, I find it amusing the collection of entertaining tangential comments from people about parts being to old to use. I think that this thread and the migration of this thread is appropriate to mention a macabre fantasy of mine.

I have more than once dreamed of my final moments in this realm. In this fantasy I am pleased to find out that my offer for providing my vacant shell to others who may use it has been graciously denied by a social worker. My failing body has equally failed in all of the possible ways that a 100+ year old individual could wear it out. Nobody could gain from reusing my fatigued parts. The fatigues themselves won't even enlighten a forensic pathologist let alone any new med student. In this fantasy I reluctantly agree that my empty shell should be cremated. This social worker insists that I amend my living will. But before I release this emotionally taxed worker, I insist that my ashes can be used to reinforce the concrete of a building or just the cement bricks of a backyard barbecue. She agrees, and has me sign a new form for the use of anonymous cremation remains. I've always been a sucker for cute redheads.

While this fantasy is very distant from engineering, it does seem relevant to the real spirit of this topic. But maybe its a little too personal and should be considered Off Topic. I'll let the mob decide.

here's one.....

I got one of those! Hammond B3 (it ain't for sale either.)

Also have a Hammond S2 that is free to a good home (needs cabinet work) if anybody is interested....

Don't worry about your age for donation. Most of the time, the bones and tendons are good. Even a 75 year old organ is preferable to a non-functioning one. Your organs may match up with someone that they are having trouble matching There may be parts that they cannot use, but the surgeon is best qualified to make that call.