Organ Donation Choices and April is National Donate Life Month.
Every month celebrates something special. April is National Donate Life month.
[April is also Financial Literacy for Youth month and National Poetry month. Okay, okay, I am not trying to belittle these observational months. I will stop googling special months. April is also National Zoo and Aquarium month. Sheesh. Back to the topic at hand.]
Advance Health Care Directives have essentially two purposes:
- Instruct who should make health care choices in the event you are unable to do so, and
- Solidify your end of life choices including your permission to donate your organs if you so choose.
When you give a blanket permission to donate your organs, you are also giving permission to donate your body tissue as well. For example, a donation of body tissue could be some skin from your backside and your corneas.
The neat thing about the Advance Health Care Directive is that, while it is a legally binding document, it is a document that you can draft to your specific wishes.
You can write down what your specific wishes are about organ donation.
My clients do just that. Of course, some opt for a blanket organ donation authorization and some opt for no organ donation at all. But those in between often state that they wish to have only major organs donated, their eyes only or that organ donation be used only for transplant purposes.
This is my job. To listen to my clients and ensure that their documents including the Advance Health Care Directive includes their wishes. Your Advance Health Care Directive is a very flexible legal document.
For more information, go to donatelife.net.
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