Can I be an organ donor if I go by CO?

[mizumono]

And if so, how long after would my organs be viable? Would I have to time some messages so they can "collect" me? The thought of my organs living on is very comforting to me.

 

[cygnines]

refer to others in the thread, my info was not correct. :(

 

[mizumono]

ideally (for donation) you'd want to be discovered 'alive' but past the point of resuscitation (brain dead), so your body can be maintained on a ventilator, thus preserving the state of the organs.

oh my! thank you so much for your reply! i guess i will need to calculate the amount and the hours even more thoroughly now

 

[willitpass]

Organ donation can only occur if you are found brain dead but physically alive/revivable. You have to be alive enough to be kept on life support while all of your organs are tested for viability and donors are picked and then taken to the OR. If you are gone and resuscitation efforts are stopped you cannot donate organs. Your body must be alive up until the point that they are cutting your organs out in the operating room. Tissue death starts the second your heart stops beating, sometimes even before then. It is a very short window of time. That is why organ donation is in such high demand, you have to die in just the right manner to be viable to donate. And being able to donate doesn't mean you will be able to donate everything, you may only have a good liver, or maybe your kidneys and heart, maybe just your corneas. There is very extensive testing done to determine what is good enough. It is very tedious, as it should be, as it would be awful to wait for months on the transplant list only to receive another damaged organ.

as a rough estimate; for your heart and lungs, they'd need to be harvested within 4-6 hours post mortem. these two are the most sensitive to lack of oxygen and blood flow. your liver is more resilient, and can be harvested up to 12 hours post mortem. the pancreas, 12-24 hours. the kidneys are viable for ~24-36 hours. for your tissues (skin, bone) you'd have several days of viability, for your corneas maybe ~24 hours.

Post mortem implies that the organs can be taken from a body that has not had any blood flow or oxygen. There is no case where an organ can be harvested from a dead body. A heart that stopped beating 4 hours ago is full of dead cells. That is not ever going to start beating again, and definitely not well enough to be put in someone else's chest and restarted. Harvested organs are instantly put on ice and kept cold and transported to the receipient as quickly as possible. One of the factors when deciding who gets an organ is distance, if they are too far from the donor they will not receive to even if it's a perfect match because the cells start to die and the organ may be too damaged. Transplants are coordinated and calculated to involve as little time between harvesting and transplantation as can be possible. Unfortunately if you are dead when you are found and cannot be revived, transplant is not an option. And even if you are revived, it is likely the damage to many organs could be too severe as CO causes oxygen deprivation.

 

[LaughingGoat]

Organ donation can only occur if you are found brain dead but physically alive/revivable. You have to be alive enough to be kept on life support while all of your organs are tested for viability and donors are picked and then taken to the OR. If you are gone and resuscitation efforts are stopped you cannot donate organs. Your body must be alive up until the point that they are cutting your organs out in the operating room. Tissue death starts the second your heart stops beating, sometimes even before then. It is a very short window of time. That is why organ donation is in such high demand, you have to die in just the right manner to be viable to donate. And being able to donate doesn't mean you will be able to donate everything, you may only have a good liver, or maybe your kidneys and heart, maybe just your corneas. There is very extensive testing done to determine what is good enough. It is very tedious, as it should be, as it would be awful to wait for months on the transplant list only to receive another damaged organ.

This is what I was able to gather when researching for my own plans. OP, think you misunderstood the 1st person who was essentially saying the same that the organs have to be preserved and kept oxidated to be used, meaning you need to be found alive. The 1st person saying the organs will be harvested hours still meant that they are being preserved in that time, again meaning you were found alive. It's unfortunately not realistically doable to set up timing a message without risking the possibility that you will be saved, outside of you committing immediate suicide inside a hospital.

 

[cygnines]

Organ donation can only occur if you are found brain dead but physically alive/revivable. You have to be alive enough to be kept on life support while all of your organs are tested for viability and donors are picked and then taken to the OR. If you are gone and resuscitation efforts are stopped you cannot donate organs. Your body must be alive up until the point that they are cutting your organs out in the operating room. Tissue death starts the second your heart stops beating, sometimes even before then. It is a very short window of time. That is why organ donation is in such high demand, you have to die in just the right manner to be viable to donate. And being able to donate doesn't mean you will be able to donate everything, you may only have a good liver, or maybe your kidneys and heart, maybe just your corneas. There is very extensive testing done to determine what is good enough. It is very tedious, as it should be, as it would be awful to wait for months on the transplant list only to receive another damaged organ.

Post mortem implies that the organs can be taken from a body that has not had any blood flow or oxygen. There is no case where an organ can be harvested from a dead body. A heart that stopped beating 4 hours ago is full of dead cells. That is not ever going to start beating again, and definitely not well enough to be put in someone else's chest and restarted. Harvested organs are instantly put on ice and kept cold and transported to the receipient as quickly as possible. One of the factors when deciding who gets an organ is distance, if they are too far from the donor they will not receive to even if it's a perfect match because the cells start to die and the organ may be too damaged. Transplants are coordinated and calculated to involve as little time between harvesting and transplantation as can be possible. Unfortunately if you are dead when you are found and cannot be revived, transplant is not an option. And even if you are revived, it is likely the damage to many organs could be too severe as CO causes oxygen deprivation.

thank you for correcting me with more accurate information.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

Even if you are unable to donate your organs, you could still donate your body "to science", as it were, for up and coming medical students at universities to learn on.

 

[Iris Blue]

I respect your decision of considering donating your organs after you are gone. I too would love to do that, I have it on my drivers license too but from what I just read it doesn't look like I would be able to donate in time :(

 

[willitpass]

Even if you are unable to donate your organs, you could still donate your body "to science", as it were, for up and coming medical students at universities to learn on.

Unfortunately that process also has a very short window. The body has to very quickly start to be preserved after death as teaching cadavers are kept and used for a long period of time so preventing decay is extremely important. When you sign up to donate your body to cadaver use you have to sign acknowledgment that it will only be possible if death occurs in such a manner that they can begin preservation within X amount of time after death. Essentially you have to die in the hospital again.

 

[mizumono]

Even if you are unable to donate your organs, you could still donate your body "to science", as it were, for up and coming medical students at universities to learn on.

God this sounds awful! lol I had to look at cadavers in college and everyone else always made it feel icky just looking at it.

I respect your decision of considering donating your organs after you are gone. I too would love to do that, I have it on my drivers license too but from what I just read it doesn't look like I would be able to donate in time :(

yeah, that's what i've gathered :/ guess i'll keep on being useless even after death hooray

 

[Little_Suzy]

Take your organs with you! There are several reasons, but when it comes to "death," we must make dying acceptable.

Donating an organ fosters the belief that repairing the body at all costs will also repair your life!

This is how mentally ill people are treated. "We need to fix that person!" In reality, a caregiver and a support network should take priority.

 

[willitpass]

Take your organs with you! There are several reasons, but when it comes to "death," we must make dying acceptable.

Donating an organ fosters the belief that repairing the body at all costs will also repair your life!

This is how mentally ill people are treated. "We need to fix that person!" In reality, a caregiver and a support network should take priority.

Not everyone wants to die. Those on the organ transplant list go through months of extensive testing and procedures to ensure that they are physically and mentally ready to receive one, and part of that includes psychological evaluations. Most people who fought hard enough to get onto the transplant list (not all obviously, there's someone on here who is on the waiting list) desperately want to live to the point they are willing to go through the hell that is pre and post organ transplantation. That is NOT an easy journey, so they want that damn bad. It is not your right to say that they should not want or value life just because you don't, in the same light it is not their place to say we should value life just because they do. If you don't want to donate organs, don't, but don't say that it's some belief being forced onto people that they have to live no matter what. Many on the transplant list WANT to do any and all they can to save their life. I work in healthcare. I don't value my own life, but I see everyday people who want to make the choice to do all they can to live. And if that person wants a transplant, they deserve the opportunity to get a transplant.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

God this sounds awful! lol I had to look at cadavers in college and everyone else always made it feel icky just looking at it.

It certainly serves an important function. How else would medical students be able to learn about the human body?

 

[willitpass]

It certainly serves an important function. How else would medical students be able to learn about the human body?

As uncomfortable as it was for me to have classes with them, it was incredibly important. I would always get myself through it by reminding myself these people wanted to donate their bodies like this.