• Question: if you have a illness such as cancer for example, can you donate your organs? xx :)

    Asked by drstilesjlstermerrygold98 to Damien, Rachael, Simon, Suzi, Tim on 20 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Suzi Gage

      Suzi Gage answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      Hi there!
      Yes quite often even if you have an illness like this you can still donate your organs. The only disease where you can no longer donate your organs is HIV, and sometimes CJD (the human form of mad cow disease).

      Once the doctors have the organs they check to make sure they’re healthy before they donate them, but depending on how much of your body the cancer was in you could still donate some of them.

      Otherwise, you can leave your body to medical science, which means that students can learn on it, and it can be used for research. This is really really useful to doctors, for finding out new things about disease.

      Hope this answers your question – what are your opinions about organ donation?

Comments

  • Photo: drstilesjlstermerrygold98

    drstilesjlstermerrygold98 commented on :

    thanks can you donate blood too? – my oppinions on organ donation are that if your dead anyway your organs are going to just rot so donate them and save somebodys life, however some people do see it as wrong and un natural but i doont i see it as helping someone, but i dont know if id donate my organs – it sounds selfish but its just that i would want to die whole.i watched this programme about scientific studies and bodies being donated and i think it can help through the medical industry and help move forward but it seems wierd :/ we talked about this film in RE where clones were made to die for organ donation which was really wierd and i do think that it is wrong to make something and make it believe its a uman then killing it for its organs eww thats just unorthodox and wrong!!
    i know its along comment but its my oppinions u made an effort to answer my question now im answering yours!! thanks for answering my questions btw i am gonna vote 4 u 2 win!! 😉

  • Photo: Suzi

    Suzi commented on :

    Thanks for your comment (and saying you’ll vote for me) 🙂
    Is the film you’re talking about called ‘Never Let me Go’ – I read the book. I agree that breeding whole human beings purely to use their organs is quite a hard idea to deal with. I think if there was a way to make organs for people that it would be better to make ‘stand alone’ organs when they were needed rather than a whole person who is conscious and aware and grows up. That is not a good system!

    I also know what you mean about wanting to die whole, but for me I think if my death could help someone else then that would be AMAZING! And I’d much rather that than my body to be burnt or buried, that seems like a waste. I think you would still die whole if you donated your organs. They don’t take them until you’re definitely dead (!)

    Thanks for putting the comment, it’s really nice to get comments on your answers for the scientists 🙂