https://www.statista.com/statistics/537908/deceased-organ-donor-rate-in-europe/
Most organ donnors are in Spain (Opt - In)
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/537908/deceased-organ-donor-rate-in-europe/
Most organ donnors are in Spain (Opt - In)
Hey FYI in the US it has to be this way. In certain states they have an opt-out on drivers license forms, but that's still technically an opt-in. Being a body-donor can't benifit you, so thus your direct consent is needed for it.
I feel like this is more an issue of poor healthcare than personal choice. It seems like rather than the U.S. chosing to be opt-in, they are physically unable to give everyone the choice to opt-out.
No. It's a thing due to its liberal legal system.
I think it's interesting to ask whether people in the opt-out countries are really consenting. Can you really say someone has consented if you never actually made the request?
Ok but for most people it doesnt really matter with a dead body. If you opt out because of religion its okay have it your way but other than that its not like it matters, youre dead.
This is sloppy, but it's what I have time for atm:
In fact, the truth is surprisingly simple: much depends merely on what happens if people don't make a decision, something called a no-action default, or simply a default. The countries on the left of the graph ask you to choose to be an organ donor, and those on the right ask you to choose not to be a donor. If you do not make an active choice, you are, by default, a nondonor in Germany and a donor in Austria.
Dan and I wanted to understand this. We started by asking a sample of Americans whether they would be donors or not by presenting them with a choice on a webpage. One group, the opt-in condition, was told that they had just moved to a new state where the default was not to be an organ donor, and they were given a chance to change that status with a simple click of a mouse. A second group, the opt-out condition, saw an identical scenario, except the default was to be a donor. They could indicate that they did not want to be a donor with a mouse click. The third group was simply required to choose; they needed to check one box or the other to go on to the next page. This neutral ques-tion, with nothing prechecked, is a mandated-choice condi-tion; it's important, because it shows what people do when they are forced to choose.
The effect of the default was remarkably strong: when they had to opt in, only 42 percent agreed to donate, but when they had to opt out, 82 percent agreed to donate. The most interesting result was from those forced to make a choice: 79 percent said they would be a donor, almost the same percentage of donors as in the opt-out condition. The only difference between the group that was asked to opt out and those who were forced to make a choice was that we forced the respondents in the mandated-choice condition to pick either box before they could go forward. It shows that if forced to make a choice, most participants would become donors. Otherwise, if they were given a default, most simply took it, whatever it was.
From The Elements of Choice by Eric Johnson
It's more complicated than the one example, and he covers it further, but as a rough guideline, it looks like forced choice and opt out are similar in this case. Which would make sense because the opposition is mostly religious and strict religious people are more motivated to opt out.
Wow, good source. 82% donor rate for the opt-out group versus 79% for the forced-choice is a smaller difference than I would have guessed.
It's a decent book overall. If you're interested in the theory behind choice architecture it's worth a read.
But yeah, read it a couple months ago and remembered it specifically addressed this question.
We don’t get their consent to be buried or cremated or whatever else people do with the remaining bodies of their loved ones. It’s just opt out. Why should organ donation, which provides a societal and personal benefit be different?
I'm pretty sure people do make their wishes clear regarding their funeral preparations. You can put that kind of stuff in your last will and I would assume it holds some legal weight.
I actually agree that organ donation should be opt-out, but there is an unavoidable argument against that. Namely, the fact that people have the right to opt-out at all implies that you have a responsibility to verify their informed consent before enrolling them in the procedure. At least, that would be the conventional wisdom according to the field of medical ethics.
Yes, you can choose to lay out your wishes. Many do, just like opt in or opt out organ donation. However, if you don't lay out your wishes, you will still end up buried or cremated or something similar without consent.
I'm not saying that's wrong. We can't just leave dead bodies where they lie. It also provides comfort to families to practice burial rites. My point is that technically you are still making decisions about what to do with somebodies body parts without consent, as they can no longer consent. Is there really a difference? If they care that much, will they just opt out?
I know some countries, they used to let you specify which organs, but then people opted out of eyes. So they removed the option and it was just donor or not. People still consented, without opting out of eyes. Is that better, or is that manipulating consent?
My point is that technically you are still making decisions about what to do with some odors body parts without consent, as they can no longer consent. Is there really a difference?
That's a good point, you're right.
That's interesting about the eyes, I'm honestly not sure what to say about that.
In most (all) European states you actually get a state mandated ID card, which has an expiration date. So the consent can be formed while filling out the formular to get a new ID.
Yeah, the formulation is a bit off here. With opt-out, you have no way to measure consent, because you can't discern between people who actually consent and those who just haven't opted out, for lack of knowledge or other reasons.
These societies have simply weighed up the two options and decided that saving lives is more important than leaving personal freedom intact at all costs.
What am I missing? What's the oopsies?
Forgot to opt in maybe?
Or, for the more sinister approach, forgot people had to opt in to organ donation and was just taking organs willy-nilly?