A young man(27) that goes to church with me died last week of a heart attack. He was an organ donor and they were able to remove a lot of his organs after he died. He was taken to the hospital on Wednesday and died on Sunday. With everything else the family has to deal with, they are going to be strapped with a bill they will probably have to pay the rest of their lives.

When I look at the whole situation, I don't understand why we are not allowed to sell out organs at time of death?
When should his family be stuck with this bill if he could have sold them at death?
Doesn't his body belond to him and he can do as he wants with it?
Everybody else will make money off of his organs: doctors, hospitals, etc.. why not his family?
Wouldn't a lot more people be donors if you could clear your hospital bills after you died instead of leaving them with the family?

Just some thoughts I had...

I agree. Why should everyone but the grieving family profit? We are given incentives to donate blood and plasma. I'd think an organ would be worth quite a bit more.

I used to think that donated organs/blood are given to those in need for free. Apparently not. I don't understand why they'd charge the release of it when they haven't paid acquiring it.

Hospitals only make money off the organs in the sense that they have to do the surgery. They don't pay for organs, that's illegal just like selling organs is illegal even if you are an organ donor. You are doing that out of the kindness of your heart. Heck they could have gone further and donated the body to science that way there was no funeral to be had.

You sign to be an organ donor. What's so confusing about that? Donation does not mean sale. Just because the family is grieving, why shouldn't they have to pay for his hospital stay? Unless I read your story wrong, wasn't he in the hospital and living for several days before he died? Isn't that the bill they're being unfairly strapped for?

I'm sure a heart transplant is an expensive thing.

Didn't he have life insurance, thats normally what covers the expenses of death?

I really don't know the particulars of my friend's finances. We weren't that close and I only saw him once a week. The original post wasn't about this guy's life. It just got me thinking after his death and the organs were donated.

If it had happened to me, my family would be devastated as I have no insurance. This of course is a problem I need to solve asap.

Ultimately, I just don't understand why we can't do with our bodies whatever we want to as long as we aren't hurting anyone else. I also believe that the way to shorten the waiting list for organs would be to introduce incintives for people that need it. A win-win situation.

On a side note: I am a donor myself and I hope that I can pass that gift on to somebody one day regardless if I get paid for it or not.

Hmm, now I wonder what would have happened if he had signed something before he died to cancel his organ donorship? Then would his family have been able to cancel their debts in exchange for his organs?

Legally I highly doubt it but his organs would go to waste otherwise.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I know how it's like having heart problems because I have heart problems myself. I hope that your friend had health insurance and if not, I'm sure the hospital have some kind of financial assistance for the family.

The reason why I do not agree with organ sale is because, just as the family of the donor is grieving, the recipient's family is also living an ordeal. Obviously, it would be the recipient family who would have to pay for the organ. What if they cannot afford it? Should they be refused a chance at life? Are we putting the rich at yet another advantage? That's the only reason why I don't agree with it. =)