NEUSTAETER: Organ donation: presumed consent and why I’m all for it

Should our child have died it was, of course, our desire for his life to have meaning through organ donation that extended past the two weeks that he had lived before entering that operating room. But that didn’t mean it was easy. Ticking the boxes to give away the individual parts of our longed-for, dreamed-of and beloved son felt like it was too much to bear.

Holding that pen while looking down at the whole, precious, living body resting in the incubator in front of me, horrified at the thought of giving anyone permission to separate him into pieces, I remember turning to my husband and saying, “His eyes? They’d want his eyes?”

But it was also an odd comfort to know that even if his life on this side of eternity ended, the body that had been knit together in my womb would have purpose beyond the short time that we had to hold and love him. If my son’s body could spare the life of another child and the grief of another mother then there could be no question about whether I would sign that document and give that gift.

It is an incredibly difficult thing for family members in a moment of shock, loss and disbelief to decide what their loved one would want and whether or not to sign that form. That might explain why, according to James Breckenridge, CEO of the Canadian Transplant Association (CTA), currently approximately 20 per cent of organ donors “do not donate their organs because of the decisions made by next of kin” regardless of the donors’ wishes.

It would be an act of kindness and common sense to remove the burden and responsibility of deciding whether or not to donate organs of a deceased loved one whenever possible, and in 2020 Nova Scotia may become the first province in Canada to do just that by adopting presumed consent for organ donation.

If passed, the legislation will mean that, unless a person opts out, it will be automatically understood that they wish to save lives with the gift of organ donation after they die. (The bill does not apply to people younger than 19 or those who do not have the ability to consent for themselves)

I know people will wax on about government control, dystopian days, Orwellian blah blah blah, but the fact is that:

Those people or someone they love most likely do not need an organ transplant.
Those same people will probably change their minds if, God forbid, they ever need an organ transplant.
Reminder: you can opt out.
If we did not live in such apathetic, selfish and entitled times then measures like this might not be necessary. Approximately 90 per cent of Canadians say they support organ donation, but less than 20 per cent have actually made plans to donate. In 2019, we spend thousands of hours watching cat videos but can’t seem to take two minutes to check a box that could save dozens of lives while making our own count for much more than they otherwise would. I would prefer that the onus be on those who don’t want to participate rather than risk lives being lost because we are often too ignorant, lazy or scared when it comes to doing the right thing.

Last year, on April 6, Logan Boulet was one of the young victims who tragically died in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash. But the meaning of his life continues on because weeks before he passed, Logan did the right thing and registered to be an organ donor. Furthermore, his parents honoured Logan’s wishes by donating his organs and saving six other lives with the gift of their son.

Today, April 7, 2019, is the first annual Green Shirt Day, organized by his family in order to inspire others and raise awareness in Logan’s name about the importance of organ donation. Thousands of Canadians have already registered to be organ donors because of it, bringing beautiful meaning from terrible tragedy.

As a parent who has signed the consent form, a friend who has seen life restored to a child through a transplant, and a stranger who has held another mother sobbing on the ICU floor of Children’s Hospital while time ran out for her child, my hope is that one day all of Canada will have presumed consent for organ donation. If a life can serve a purpose — even in death — then it should.

But until then I will wear green on April 7 while feeling deep gratitude for the continuing life of my son, great compassion, admiration, gratitude and respect for those who are not as fortunate and give the gift of life when theirs has ended. And I will remember Logan Boulet.

And in case it is ever disputed, let it be on the record that I registered as an organ donor years ago and (law or not) you can assume that when I die my body parts are all up for grabs. One organ and tissue donor can save the lives of up to eight people and improve the quality of life for up to 75 others. So take them all because I won’t need them!

They’ve served me well and I would hope they could do the same for someone else.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

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NEUSTAETER: Organ donation: presumed consent and why I’m all for it

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