Some Views from a Jew

Rabbi Amy Weiss offers unique perspectives on all things Jewish

Sig Wants You to Donate Your Organs. Spread the Word.


My friend Sig is 94 years old and has a lot to say about life, politics and the state of the world.  He is one of those folks who is passionate and wants to do some good in the world.  But for some years one topic has been a particular passion.  Sig is mystified and frustrated by the lack of enthusiasm fort donating one’s organs.  Donating an organ is the greatest gift one can make because it is a gift that can never be repaid.  Why don’t more people do it?

There are different kinds of organ donation.  A live donation is one way, such as giving a kidney to someone while you are alive or a donation after death that might involve skin, eyes and organs.

For many reasons, lots of people are reticent to commit to organ donation, possibly because death is a difficult idea for us to face.  Another reason that some Jewish folks may take issue with organ donation is that the moment of death is a source of contention in Jewish law.  Early this year an Israeli soccer star was involved in a motorcycle accident and experienced brain death.  A nationwide discussion began in Israel– should his family donate his organs? Sadly, they decided not to do pikuach nefesh, the mitzvah of saving another person.

Remember in the post I wrote about the Berry family?  I quoted Rabbi Nachman of Braslov “All the world is a very narrow bridge and the most important thing is not to be afraid.”  All of us will die.  We can choose to live life fully and plan to help others when our time does come or we can choose to be afraid and not talk about dying.

Have you talked to your almost driving teen about checking the organ donation box when they get their license?   Do you have an organ donation directive in your legal papers? Attention Sandwich Generation– have you talked to your parents about having an organ donation directive?  Never too early to think about the High Holidays.  Make a REAL statement and have some organ donation forms at your break fast this year.  or at your birthday party.

Read the UTMB organ donation FAQ.  Then print out a page for everyone in your family.

Do it for yourself.  Do it for Sig.

Categories: General

10 Responses

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  3. JohnD says:

    I’ll donate my organs once the medicos admit that they are *my* organs. Right now, physicians routinely ignore your rights to informed consent and maintain that anything that they can steal from your body is theirs to do with as they wish. And politicans aren’t much better with their socialist insistence that unless you specify otherwise, your body is theirs to steal (AKA “opt-out”).

    • GS says:

      You made some very good points, JohnD—which you kind of fouled up by ending with that right-wing anti-socialist straw-politician rant. Your concerns about being properly informed and having your wishes respected are valid, but they really have no bearing on whether a system is opt-in or opt-out. In both systems, a default “choice” is imposed, and each individual can override it.

      Try taking a broader perspective than thinking just about yourself. Protecting your interests and those of society can be coordinated—and can often even be complementary.

    • JohnD says:

      How is pointing out that your cadaver is your property to do with as you wish a “right-wing anti-socialist straw-politician rant”? Substitute any other piece of property into that statement and you will see the point. Should politicians be able to tell you that you must give your car to the poor? Should they be allowed to force you to share your house with those who have none? Why should the cadaver be any different?

      The main differences between opt-in and opt-out are three fold:

      1) Opt-in assumes that you are intelligent enough to make a decision; opt-out assumes that you are not. Forcing someone to say “No, this is mine, not yours” is the action of a socialist state. (Perhaps you need to review your history.)

      2) Opt-in places the burden of proof on the people who want the organs; they must prove that you gave consent. Opt-out places the burden of proof on the executor of the estate.

      3) Most importantly, opt-out has the potential to do harm with no method for redress. Suppose I die and my organs are used in transplants even though I have opted-out. Will my estate be allowed to reclaim those organs?

    • JohnD says:

      You probably won’t post this comment, just as you have refused to post my previous replies, but hope springs eternal; perhaps you will develop the moral courage to honestly examine your views and allow dissenting opinion on your blog.

      Socialism is defined by the presumption that the state has the right to determine what happens to your property, which includes your cadaver. Under opt-out, your estate must prove that you did not want to donate your organs; i.e., the state has determined what will happen to your property. Worse, there is no recourse if the state has acted in a way contrary to your wishes as your organs cannot be taken back. Based on this, it is clear that opt-out is socialism masquerading as “compassion”.

  4. GS says:

    The bigger problem is that here in the U.S. we have an opt-in organ donation system—that is, people must first consider the issue, then think about the possibility of their own (brain) death, and then choose to donate in that eventuality. For the many people who are uncomfortable contemplating their death, this system effectively has them say “no” by default. Opt-out systems, which are generally associated with higher donation rates, don’t put people in this awkward position.

    My suggestion is that we spread the word advocating for an opt-out system of organ donation. Opt-out wouldn’t change the immediate problem, but it would go a long way toward providing an upstream solution.

    • JohnD says:

      GS, why are you advocating socialism? Forcing people to opt-out is the same as saying that their property (the cadaver) is not theirs to do with as they please. And that is socialism at its worst. Why should we wait? Let’s force everyone to get typed for bone marrow, kidney, and liver transplants today! After all, you can donate those without dying, so let’s just turn everyone into parts farms.

      In addition, opt-out shifts the burden of proof from the people who steal them to person who owns the organs. You are forced to prove, at the worst possible time, that your beloved did not give consent to the theft of their orgrans.

      Opt-out also makes restitution impossible. After all, what can the victim do? Sue to get his organs back?

    • strengthof10 says:

      Trying to figure out your comment just about ruined my brain, and my liver is not feeling too good either. Perhaps you could explain “opt-in”, “opt-out”, etc.

    • strengthof10 says:

      Thanks, Rabbi, for a very important message.

      But you should have reminded them; they won’t feel a thing.

      (sorry, me bad)