Opinion On Death Row Prisoners Being Doners

[MrzDiva]

TweetWhats your opinion on death row prisoners donating their organs to save people who need kidneys, livers, or anything like that ?? Here is a little information I found about that..


Death Row Inmates

The practice of death row inmates donating organs while alive follows closely to that of their more general inmate counterparts. Where they differ is in their inability have their organs donated following their execution. Although no law specifically forbids death row inmates from donating organs postmortem, as of 2013 all requests by death row inmates to donate their organs after execution have been denied by states. Additionally there is debate about whether current organ donation guidelines, outlined in the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 and the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, implicitly prohibit death row inmates from being organ donors.

Questions regarding the benefits, practicality, morality and ethics of allowing death row inmates to donate their organs postmortem have garnered notable attention following two highly publicized events: an editorial by condemned prisoner Christian Longo published in the New York Times advocating for the right of fellow death row inmates to donate their organs, and the request by death row inmate Gregory Scott Johnson to have his execution stayed until he could donate a portion of his liver to his debilitated sister.

The answers to these questions have been variably debated by the public, professional medical organizations, and bioethicists. A limited number of opinion polls have indicated broad favor for the practice within both the general public and organ recipients. In contrast transplant and medical societies have generally opposed the practice, and bioethicists have been divided.

Benefits

Organ donation has the potential to greatly improve quality of life as well as prevent death in patients with end-stage organ failure. There is an endemic shortage of organ donors within the US, resulting in an immediate and persistent need for additional, suitable organ donors. Death row inmates are a possible source of additional organs. However, the quality and amount of organs that death row inmates can potentially contribute is debated, but would definitely not remove more than a small percentage of people on transplant waiting lists.

Practical Barriers

Suitability

The same reasons that make the general prison population less suitable to be organ donors—poor health and increased chance of infectious disease—also apply to death row inmates. However, due to the preplanned nature of executions and lengthy time periods before they are carried out death row inmates have a greater potential to be screened thoroughly beforehand. Additionally many death row inmates are in isolation from the general population, reducing their chances of having contracted a communicable disease.

Other factors, however, variably decrease the suitability of death row inmates as organ donors. The average age of people on death row is over 50, and chronic medical conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are common. Potentially half of death row inmates would be unsuitable for organ donation.

Medical constraints

The primary method of execution in the US is via lethal injection which generally involves the administration of three drugs: sodium thiopental, a sedative to induce unconsciousness, pancuronium bromide (Pavulon), a muscle relaxant to cause respiratory arrest, and potassium chloride to trigger cardiac arrest. Organ donation following this method of lethal injection is often compared to donation after circulatory death (DCD). Similar to DCD organ donation following lethal injection faces the challenge of gathering organs before they become unusable due to hypoxia. Both the American Medical Association and the American Society of Anesthesiology oppose their members from participating in executions, although their abilities to sanction members for doing so are limited. In order to avoid the transplanting physician's involvement in the death of the inmate, the cause of death must be determined to be from lethal injection, and not from the removal of the patients organs. This means that after lethal injection, the medical examiner waits 10–15 minutes to test for sign of cardiac activity before pronouncing them dead. During this time hypoxia destroying the organs becomes a serious issue, but removal of the organs any earlier risks making the removal of the inmates organs the cause of death and not the lethal injection.

Additionally the facilities that oversee executions are not equipped to handle the organ removal surgery. Revamping these facilities to be able to handle such surgeries would be very costly. This leaves two other options, changing the location of execution to a hospital, or moving the inmate to the hospital after their execution. The first option would be difficult due to hospitals not wanting to oversee executions, and the second option risks further hypoxia of the organs during the time it takes to transport the inmate.

Moral and Ethical Considerations, some considerations for organ donation from those on death row mirror those of general prison population. Indirect coercion, and mental stress can possibly impair the ability of a death row inmate to make a fully informed decision. Becoming an organ donor may influence the appeals process, where sympathy or the chance of another individual benefiting from the inmates death may come into consideration. Additionally there is fear that the possibility of organ donation could influence the judgement jurors who may weigh the possibility of someone being able to live at the expense of the accused when deciding their verdict. Thus, whether or not depriving death row inmates the ability to donate their organs is protecting their rights, or stripping them away, continues to be debated.

The argument has also been made that justice would not be served if an inmates death is seen as an act of redemption by allowing them to donate their organs.[13] Supporters of this argument believe that positive news coverage leading up to the execution would distract from the crimes they committed and cause emotional distress to the family and friends of victims of the inmate. One possible solution to this could be to make organ donation anonymous. Several counterarguments have been made ranging from the belief that the death penalty does not serve justice, to the belief that depriving someone the ability to seek redemption before they die is inhumane, and finally to the belief that while allowing organ donation may undermine justice it is ultimately outweighed by the benefit of helping other lives.

[guns01]

Tweetif they agree to donate healthy organs who cares, they are being put to death. it's their right to donate if they choose to and just because they are being executed why should the donation matter. as long as they arent against donating i dont see how this could even be an issue. if you think about it though, most of these guys die of old age long before they are executed any way, so the point is pretty moot

[MOUNTAIN-MAN]

TweetI think should be able to donate there organs as long as they are tested for hiv and tb just like the general population. I mean it's almost like redemption for a death row inmate if he or she took a life and that is why they are on the row they get a chance to save one. I'm all for that.

[mtnmedic]

TweetAs long as it's not a brain I'm ok with it too. Texas should have a good inventory, they put away two a month on average.

[JsJs24]

TweetI never knew this was an issue. I don't know why the government would want to prevent them from donating their organs. If you think about it, that is like the government giving out two death sentences, one to the death row inmate and one to the person who may die from not receiving an organ. The following from the article "In contrast transplant and medical societies have generally opposed the practice, and bioethicists have been divided", makes you wonder if those societies care whatsoever about helping people.

[LittleTom]

TweetIt might be very traumatic for someone to find out the kidney that saved their life came from a rapist or a murder. I guess if the person receiving the transplant was ok with it as well, I think it should be fine.

Another aspect comes from the victim or persons effected by the inmate who committed the crime. It could be tough to deal with the fact that a part of the inmate lives on while the rest of him has died. I would hope that a victim would be ok with it but lets say there was a heart transplant or an eye transplant. The murder of a loved ones heart beats in another persons chest.....

[JsJs24]

TweetAsking them would work. However I do't think you are allowed to know where it came from, which might be the reason so many are against it. I would think they could do something though like maybe ask everyone if they are willing to accept an organ from a prisoner on death row, perhaps it could be a box you check on your application for getting an organ. Then only those who selected they are okay with it would be able to get one of the death row organs. I tell you though, if I am dying I don't care who you get the organ from, just put it in me and save my life. People get too superstitious or sentimental, or whatever you call it.

[MrzDiva]

TweetIn my opinion I wouldn't care where the kidney, liver, or whatever organ came from as long as it helped me live longer for my family and daughter.. If it was from a death row inmate it wouldn't bother me at all either.. That person was scheduled to die for whatever reason .. That was he's last chance to do something good for once in hes life to save me for my family. My concious would be cleared only because I would live longer for my family...

[JsJs24]

Tweet

In my opinion I wouldn't care where the kidney, liver, or whatever organ came from as long as it helped me live longer for my family and daughter.. If it was from a death row inmate it wouldn't bother me at all either.. That person was scheduled to die for whatever reason .. That was he's last chance to do something good for once in hes life to save me for my family. My concious would be cleared only because I would live longer for my family...

You bring up a good point, maybe the inmate's conscience would be cleared too for doing something good on his way out.

[Dzone]

TweetHell yes. If they can sell body parts from aborted fetuses, they sure as hell can harvest organs from convicts to save lives. Maybe they would execute murderers sooner if they knew someone was waiting for an organ.