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Oregon Death Row Inmate wants To Donate His Organs

Your opinion?

  • Total voters
    44
Yes, it should be allowed, under the following conditions:
1) The inmate chooses to do it. Mandatory donation would mean systemic abuses.
2) The donor continues to remain anonymous, unless the inmate names a specific recipient.
3) A named recipient must pass investigation proving that the inmate was not coerced by prison staff or other inmates to do it.
4) Diseases, etc. have been ruled out.

Then there is the matter of how the inmate dies. In this story, the inmate wants to donate one kidney, which is possible before execution since only one is needed to stay alive. We would have to modify how organ donors die in order to preserve vital organs, which could be costly.
 
So long as the inmate is healthy and the organs safe for donation I have no problem with it.
 
Higgins86 said:
No because I don't want to become a killer myself and clearly that is how this works.
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You should read Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov. In addition to it being satirical of Russian/Soviet society in the early '20s, the main plot point is that you can't change your nature (illustrated by a heart transplant from a dog turning the man into a feral creature).
 
Question 1) yes of course. I see no reason why they should not be able to donate voluntarily.

Question 2) yes I would accept an organ if i needed one. Even more so in the case of a heart; that way I could say "I may seem like a really nice guy, but I actually have the heart of a killer"

Higgins86 said:
No because I don't want to become a killer myself and clearly that is how this works.
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I almost posted something along the same lines but saw you beat me to the (kidney?) punch
 
pbrauer said:
Two questions: (poll is multiple choice)

1. Should death row inmates be allowed to donate organs?

2. Would you accept a donation from a death row inmate?

Here is the story:

NEWBERG, Ore. (AP) – Oregon death row inmate Christian Longo wants to donate a kidney to a Newberg man so desperate he’s been standing on a corner with a sign asking for an organ.

Longo says he and other inmates would be interested in donating organs if they were allowed.

In 2003, Longo was sentenced to death for killing his wife and three children on the Oregon coast. He has become an advocate for inmate organ donation and wanted to donate his organs after his execution. Gov. John Kitzhaber’s moratorium on executions in 2011 halted that idea.
Death row inmate wants to donate organs | KOIN.com
​
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Yes as long as the following conditions are met-

1.As long as it is does not alter, delay or negate the death row inmate's sentence. I could see scumbag sympathizers trying to use this to alter,delay or help a scumbag weasel out of their sentence.

2.The organs are still good after the execution.

3.The recipients of the organs have no relation with the donor. This is to remove an perception of forced donation.
 
No comprehension why someone would not want such a donated organ, assuming it was in healthy condition.
 
Goshin said:
No comprehension why someone would not want such a donated organ, assuming it was in healthy condition.
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Playing devil's advocate here, there have been plenty of recorded anecdotes of people taking on behaviors and preferences (like food tastes) of the donor upon receiving their organs. Many cultures also believe that some aspect of one's spirit is contained in the organs and if they are allowed to continue living then the person's spirit lives on, however marginally. Take the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Chinese for example... they believed that the heart contained the spirit and the brain was just a logic centre. If you transplant the heart then some aspect of the person's spiritual essence continues on in the new body, as a de facto low level possession.

Hindus believe that the body must be cremated in order to totally liberate the soul, so many traditionalists would find organ transplantation abhorrent.

Not saying I subscribe to that, but the origins might matter to some people's spiritual beliefs. On the other hand, there are plenty of immoral people who haven't gone to jail who are donating their organs, so who is to say.
 
pbrauer said:
Two questions: (poll is multiple choice)

1. Should death row inmates be allowed to donate organs?

2. Would you accept a donation from a death row inmate?

Here is the story:

NEWBERG, Ore. (AP) – Oregon death row inmate Christian Longo wants to donate a kidney to a Newberg man so desperate he’s been standing on a corner with a sign asking for an organ.

Longo says he and other inmates would be interested in donating organs if they were allowed.

In 2003, Longo was sentenced to death for killing his wife and three children on the Oregon coast. He has become an advocate for inmate organ donation and wanted to donate his organs after his execution. Gov. John Kitzhaber’s moratorium on executions in 2011 halted that idea.
Death row inmate wants to donate organs | KOIN.com
​
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I voted yes to both. I don't see why not. As long as the organs are healthy, that's all that matters IMO.
 
Northern Light said:
Playing devil's advocate here, there have been plenty of recorded anecdotes of people taking on behaviors and preferences (like food tastes) of the donor upon receiving their organs. Many cultures also believe that some aspect of one's spirit is contained in the organs and if they are allowed to continue living then the person's spirit lives on, however marginally. Take the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Chinese for example... they believed that the heart contained the spirit and the brain was just a logic centre. If you transplant the heart then some aspect of the person's spiritual essence continues on in the new body, as a de facto low level possession.

Hindus believe that the body must be cremated in order to totally liberate the soul, so many traditionalists would find organ transplantation abhorrent.

Not saying I subscribe to that, but the origins might matter to some people's spiritual beliefs. On the other hand, there are plenty of immoral people who haven't gone to jail who are donating their organs, so who is to say.
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I wonder if people with those kinds of beliefs would even accept an organ transplant. They might be like Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions.
 
ChrisL said:
I wonder if people with those kinds of beliefs would even accept an organ transplant. They might be like Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions.
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It's possible, or it could be that they would only accept organs from people of their faith (like a family member), or people they deem "virtuous". Not saying I really get that world view, but people in this thread are expressing that they don't understand how someone could refuse an organ and I'm trying to shed some light on that.

I know with Jehova's witnesses there is a lot of anti-establishment mentality built into the faith because they hold a deeper resentment toward the authorities who killed Jesus, and thus authority outside of the faith is not to be trusted. That includes modern medicine. But... the blood also matters to them a lot. The only reason blood should willingly leave a person's body is for the purposes of redemption and cleansing sin... thus accepting another's blood or organs is like accepting their sin-sacrifice.
 
ChrisL said:
I wonder if people with those kinds of beliefs would even accept an organ transplant. They might be like Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions.
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They probably are. Isn't a blood transfusion very similar to an organ transplant? You're taking something from a donor's body and giving it to someone in order to preserve their life.
 
If he wants to I don't see why he should be barred from doing so. Perhaps he's just trying to right the wrongs he did, nothing wrong with that.
 
Dittohead not! said:
They probably are. Isn't a blood transfusion very similar to an organ transplant? You're taking something from a donor's body and giving it to someone in order to preserve their life.
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Well, they could always tell people if the donor was an inmate or not, not revealing the person's identity of course. Then, let the patient make the choice. :shrug:
 
MaggieD said:
Actually, that's a piss-poor reason to allow people to die for want of a kidney. Our organ transplant system is pretty secure. If it isn't? Make it so.
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I wouldn't worry about it. Cal will be accusing the government of being too liberal and therefore soft on criminals in the next thread.
 
No. The method of execution in Oregon is lethal injection. If some other method is arranged, then Yes. This appears just to be a way to keep from having the sentence carried out. Chances of an organ match is minimal anyway.
 
Smeagol said:
They can harvest the organs while under anesthesia then after the surgery, they can carry out the execution before he wakes up. Gosh, that sounds morbid! :shock:

Another concern would be exposing the recipient to communicable infections like hepatitis and HIV. Former prison inmates cannot donate blood I think due to the prevalence of prison rape. If they can be sure the organs are free from disease, I think its a great idea for the condemned to leave this world having done something good for humanity.
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If he would agree to this, then I change my vote to yes. I just fear it's a plea to stop the execution as it causes conflict in the system.
 
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