The Gift Of Life
Posted by: Mrs Justin on: July 24, 2007
You’ve read the article on The Gift Of Life as part of your supplementary lesson. We discussed about the issues surrounding organ transplant. You may also want to read about mercy killing or euthanasia. As mentioned in class, here’s the story about Terry Schiavo.
Coming back to the point, organ transplant. Would you give someone the gift of life? Why or why not?
49 Responses to "The Gift Of Life"
July 24, 2007 at 3:57 pm
I would give my organs away as I think that I am brain dead and I would not need them and they can save at least 6 others who need it.
July 24, 2007 at 4:03 pm
I think that if people donate organs,it will save others life!
July 24, 2007 at 4:09 pm
There is a shortage of organ donations. Asia especially lags far behind. What do you think we can do about it?
July 24, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Is there a chance of dying while donating organs? (I mean for a person who’s not brain dead yet.) I saw a show on Channel U on a show known as “Be Strong, Guem Soon!” (Korean Drama) She donated her kidney (to her mother who abandoned her) and has a 10% chance of dying. Is it true?
Calvin 
July 24, 2007 at 4:12 pm
If it were me, i would not donAte my ORGANS even if i am brain dead! touch wood!
u should know whose comment this is! $$$$$$$ ;( =)
July 24, 2007 at 4:13 pm
I wondered why there are myths of organ donation????maybe people r scared of it,so Miss George why are people scared of it????
July 24, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Well Calvin, yes someone alive can donate his/her kidneys while alive. I guess the 10% refers to the chances of the receipient’s body rejecting the transplant.
July 24, 2007 at 4:14 pm
donating organs are soooooo scary still,at least that can save lives..©
July 24, 2007 at 4:15 pm
I think the lady died a and extremly tragic death. She needs to go through extreme discomfort and incur great expense too. But even if i were born, please don’t blame me for being heart-harded, I won’t donate my organs. (What’s the use of even cremating it or burying it anyway?) 
July 24, 2007 at 4:18 pm
i think that it is not a bad thing to donate your organs because since you are dying,why don’t you donate your organs to someone who need it…
By doing this,you can save one or more people’s life..
July 24, 2007 at 4:21 pm
We can force everyone to do it!!But some may disagree,mmmmmm…….. :O
July 24, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Force everyone? Hmmm…We are opening a can or worms here aren’t we?
July 24, 2007 at 4:24 pm
well if u force everyone to do it, i will go jump off a building! ok, maybe just my table in nmy room! touch wood!!!! LOL
July 24, 2007 at 4:26 pm
who will donate their organs? maybe some loyal and some menta* people( not me! )
hmm maybe who knows,maybe in the future, everyone will be able to clone organs and everyone can be saved!!! hail all sceintists and me! by you know who
July 24, 2007 at 4:28 pm
I agree with Vincent that way , we will save space to build new buildings…No one needs a big burial space at all…Every one will only need a 6×6 space for a burial site!!!
July 24, 2007 at 4:28 pm
By the way, organ shortages is a really serious matter in Asia so I suggest that we could help to educate people about this matter. Even though we students of Canberra Primary are still kids, we can still help even for the biggest situation. I think we can help by putting up posters or making documentaries about ogan shortages in Asia or maybe the world. Hope that helps!
July 24, 2007 at 4:31 pm
we learnt that in some countries organ donation is a MUST if you die ahead of your time (in literiture). is that the same in Singapore?
-Zi Man
can we still donate our organs after we die???
-Pameyla
July 24, 2007 at 4:33 pm
I don’t know. But forcing won’t work. The only think I can think of is try to force the person by putting himself in someone else’s shoes. That maybe will crack him up. Or…….maybe….
we’ll lock him up in custody and tell him that when a organ matches, it is like having a one in a million chances of one matching. I remembered, that on the show “I not Stupid”, the father actually declined on donating his bone marrow. So, in the end, his son, aka Terry, donated his bone marrow instead. What a shame on the father!! (angry) (grin)
July 24, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Maybe you are right.so Vincent what you think about encouraging people instead of forcing them???
July 24, 2007 at 4:34 pm
If you are the person who is sick and need an organ,wouldn’t you wish that more people will donate their organs?
July 24, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Jerry!!You are so evil!If your mom was lying on the hospital bed,(sorry…Touch Wood okay!!)on life support,needing an organ,no one will donate one. We are not mental!!
July 24, 2007 at 4:38 pm
so you are saying that we children, only 10 – 11 years old, should donate organs and have a chance of losing our own lives? touch wood! but even if us donated our organs and survived,we would have trouble living our own lives.and besides, like i said with my own comment before,there might be a machine in dah future that might allow us to clone our organs and hmm maybe even make its own organs! sides, i am evil so i would rather doante my organs to my 5 dollar note than you even if i m brain dead! touch wood! LLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL! by dah moneymouse
July 25, 2007 at 1:07 pm
organs um….. r veri important to us (I tHink so too ) don’t u too!
August 3, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Jerry ur so evil…you should think about the people who needs organs to live and how they feel.
August 3, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Even if I were dead i will donate my organs
even though it is a bit scary to me
* – *
November 4, 2007 at 3:18 pm
I will only go through organ transplantation when there is no
cure for my situation.
January 16, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Dear Miss George,
I think blogging quite interesting but still there’s some disadvantages for it too.So I think I need to cautious at all times during blogging so that I don’t commit mistakes!
January 17, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Miss george i do think i should not give my organs away even if im dead because i dont think i will like missing organs in my body
January 18, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I don’t really like the idea of organ transplation…YUX…!
January 18, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Ms george, i think gurkiren’s quite right but i would rather give away my organs to save lives after my death than to leave them to rot in my DEAD BODY!
January 20, 2008 at 8:18 am
Ms George,
Do you think I should give away my organs?It sounds TERRIBLE!
February 5, 2008 at 3:00 pm
HA HA HA MEGHA i wouldnt even give them away even if i had hundreds of them
July 16, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I don’t really think that I am brave enough to donate my organs… I don’t want to have scars when in the coffin !!! Well… and I’m sure that it will hurt even if I am BRAIN DEAD.
August 1, 2008 at 8:10 am
Erm….in my opinion, i do think that donating our organs to people who need them after we died is something i wil do for sure…As we all know that in Singapore, there are thousands or more people who are waiting for people to donate organs to them.So i thin that donating our organs after we died is so like doing something good to the needies..
August 1, 2008 at 8:11 am
If I am brain dead, I would not know if my organs are taken out. So I will leave the choice to my family. Actually, i don’t mind donating my organs. At least it can help other desperate people….
August 1, 2008 at 8:35 am
i don’t really mind donating my organs. it’s good helping others.
August 1, 2008 at 8:42 am
Noooooo~! we must stop this immediately! but i don’t really mind donating my organs as long as it would not kill me!!!!!
August 1, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I’ve found out what makes people disagreeable on donating their organs when they are alive – MYTHS. Here are some of them:
Myth No. 1. If I agree to donate my organs, my doctor or the emergency room staff won’t work as hard to save my life. They’ll remove my organs as soon as possible to save somebody else.
Reality. When you go to the hospital for treatment, doctors focus on saving your life — not somebody else’s. You’ll be seen by a doctor whose specialty most closely matches your particular emergency. The doctor in charge of your care has nothing to do with transplantation.
Myth No. 2. Maybe I won’t really be dead when they sign my death certificate. It’ll be too late for me if they’ve taken my organs for transplantation. I might have otherwise recovered.
Reality. Although it’s a popular topic in the tabloids, in reality, people don’t start to wiggle a toe after they’re declared dead. In fact, people who have agreed to organ donation are given more tests to determine that they are truly dead than are those who haven’t agreed to organ donation.
Myth No. 3. Organ donation is against my religion.
Reality. Organ donation is consistent with the beliefs of most religions. This includes Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam and most branches of Judaism. If you’re unsure of or uncomfortable with your faith’s position on donation, ask a member of your clergy. Another option is to check the federal Web site OrganDonor.gov, which provides religious views on organ donation and transplantation by denomination.
Myth No. 4. I’m under age 18. I’m too young to make this decision.
Reality. That’s true, in a legal sense. But your parents can authorize this decision. You can express to your parents your wish to donate, and your parents can give their consent knowing that it’s what you wanted. Children, too, are in need of organ transplants, and they usually need organs smaller than those an adult can provide.
Myth No. 5. I want my loved one to have an open-casket funeral. That can’t happen if his or her organs or tissues have been donated.
Reality. Organ and tissue donation doesn’t interfere with having an open-casket funeral. The donor’s body is clothed for burial, so there are no visible signs of organ or tissue donation. For eye donation, an artificial eye is inserted, the lids are closed, and no one can tell any difference. For bone donation, a rod is inserted where bone is removed. With skin donation, a very thin layer of skin similar to a sunburn peel is taken from the donor’s back. Because the donor is clothed and lying on his or her back in the casket, no one can see any difference.
Myth No. 6. I’m too old to donate. Nobody would want my organs.
Reality. There’s no defined cutoff age for donating organs. Organs have been successfully transplanted from donors in their 70s and 80s. The decision to use your organs is based on strict medical criteria, not age. Don’t disqualify yourself prematurely. Let the doctors decide at your time of death whether your organs and tissues are suitable for transplantation.
Myth No. 7. I’m not in the greatest health, and my eyesight is poor. Nobody would want my organs or tissues.
Reality. Very few medical conditions automatically disqualify you from donating organs. The decision to use an organ is based on strict medical criteria. It may turn out that certain organs are not suitable for transplantation, but other organs and tissues may be fine. Don’t disqualify yourself prematurely. Only medical professionals at the time of your death can determine whether your organs are suitable for transplantation.
Myth No. 8. I would like to donate one of my kidneys now, rather than wait until my death. But I hear you can’t do that unless you’re a close family member of someone in need.
Reality. While that used to be the case, it isn’t any longer. Whether it’s a distant family member, friend or complete stranger you want to help, you can donate a kidney through certain transplant centers.
If you decide to become a living donor, you will undergo extensive questioning to ensure that you are aware of the risks and make sure you’re giving away your kidney out of pure goodwill and not in return for financial gain. You will also undergo testing to determine that your kidneys are in good shape and that you can live a healthy life with just one kidney.
You can also donate blood or bone marrow during your lifetime. Contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross for details on where you can donate or sign up.
Myth No. 9. Rich, famous and powerful people always seem to move to the front of the line when they need a donor organ. There’s no way to ensure that my organs will go to those who’ve waited the longest or are the neediest.
Reality. The rich and famous aren’t given priority when it comes to allocating organs. It may seem that way because of the amount of publicity generated when celebrities receive a transplant, but they are treated no differently from anyone else. In fact, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the organization responsible for maintaining the national organ transplant network, subjects all celebrity transplants to an internal audit to make sure the organ allocation was appropriate.
Myth No. 10. My family will be charged if I donate my organs.
Reality. The organ donor’s family is never charged for donating. The family is charged for the cost of all final efforts to save your life, and those costs are sometimes misinterpreted as costs related to organ donation. Costs for organ removal go to the transplant recipient.
And, do you know that u could actually save 50 people from donating all your organs??? Quite cool, huh??? 
August 3, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Wow Sue Lun, you know like soooooooooo much about Organ transplants! Cooooool!!!
August 3, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Hey guys…. I think that donors of organs are very generous as donating an organ might be a simple thing to say, but on that very day, you might wish that you were going on a terrifying trip to outer space instead!!!!!
August 3, 2008 at 6:31 pm
hi guys,
well, if its me, i will donate my organs! ( of course not illegally!):) hey, if there was someone who force u to donate ur organs illegally, will u? 4 me, definitely not! what is the use? sure, u will get $millions of money$ n a very expensive stay in a lousy ‘motel’! u guys think itis worth it? definitely N-O NO!
i have read sue lun’s message n i think it is very very true! u can’t get charged 4 helping right?;)
August 3, 2008 at 6:33 pm
if u read my last message, that ‘very expensive stay in the lousy motel’ actually refers to a big fat fine and a stay in jail!
hahaha;)
August 3, 2008 at 6:41 pm
hmm…… …… ms george, i don’t think ‘the gift of life’ sounds appropraite for tis subject. it sounds over dramatic (4 me neway)
maybe u could change it 2 something like ‘donating organs … would uyou do it?’ that is more straight 2 the point, isn’t it? *_* ( hopeful )
July 24, 2007 at 3:34 pm
£ so sad £