Donation must be a gift

As a doctor, and a recipient of a double lung transplant, and having lost a family member waiting for a transplant, I was left feeling uncomfortable reading Shaw’s Personal View.1 From all three angles my conclusions would be the same: as a recipient I view the donation of organs as a gift—from both the donor and their family. I would be horrified to think that in my receiving an organ, another family had been left feeling abused and ignored. I cope with the fact that my family celebrated while another family grieved because I know that the grieving family are also comforted by the amazing act of kindness (and that I can write and thank them for this). It is not my right to receive an organ; it is an honour. I have spoken to many donor families and they have all taken some comfort from the act of giving. But if this was not an act of giving but one of the medical profession “taking,” the whole dynamic shifts.

To increase organ donation I believe in education, raising awareness, and asking people to discuss their wishes with their family. My aim when talking to people about organ donation is to let them make an informed decision. It has to be a gift and the family have to live with the decision.