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from the you-put-your-left-leg-in,-your-left-leg-out... dept.
ScienceDaily reports:
Researchers say there should be an international database containing the very latest information about organ donations and transplants, so policy makers can make informed decisions on whether to adopt an opt-out or opt-in system.
The call comes after a study [in the UK], carried out by The University of Nottingham, the University of Stirling and Northumbria University, showed that overall an opt-out system might provide a greater number of organs for transplant but many factors can influence the success of either system and a repository of accessible information would help individual countries decide which one would be better for them.
The research published in the online academic journal BioMed Central Medicine (BMC Medicine), is the first international comparison that examines both deceased as well as living organ/transplant rates in opt-in and opt-out systems.
[...] Professor Fergusson argues that it is imperative for transplant organizations to routinely collect data on important organ donation indices -- consent type, procurement procedure, number of intensive care beds and trained surgeons -- and make this publicly available to inform future research and policy recommendations.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Immerman on Monday September 29 2014, @11:24PM
Actually, as I recall organs typically die within minutes of the body, at best. Add in the time it takes to remove them without damage and get them on ice, and if the doctor takes an extra 60 seconds trying to revive you it likely means that at least some of your organs will no longer be viable. Add in the fact that there is no bright clear line between being alive and dead - the doctor has to make a judgment call on each case individually - and you can see how being an organ donor might drastically reduce your chances of being revived in a touch-and-go situation. Does she keep trying to revive you at a 10% chance, knowing that doing so means your organs will no longer be suitable for transplant if she fails? And, oh yeah, even on ice those organs won't last long so they pretty much have to have the recipients for your organs lined up while you're still alive.
On the other hand given the tight time constraints it's actually very rare that a person dies under circumstances where their organs can be harvested - it's generally accepted that the ideal organ donor is someone who has experienced brain death but is otherwise still alive and healthy - the organs can then be either harvested en-masse, or one by one while keeping the body alive with prosthetics as a life-support system for the remaining organs, potentially greatly extending the window in which compatible recipients can be found.