What if....? Would you save a life?

[Yeoman Randi]

Last week i mentioned the "What if?" game a friend and i use to play (what if an alien landed in your backyard?)

Another scenario we came up with was this:

There's a little kid you know who needs a bone marrow transplant. You go with the hundreds of other people in your neighborhood to donate blood and have your name put on the bone marrow donor list in case you are a match with the little boy. Turns out, you aren't and you move on.

A couple of months go by and you get a phone call from the bone marrow registry. Turns out you are a match for someone. You don't know this person and the registry cannot tell you anything else. They tell you that you can back out if you want to, but are you still willing to donate marrow for this person?

You know deep in your heart that without your marrow this person will probably die. But there are risks to donating and most certainly at least a small amount of pain for you.

Do you donate?

To help you decide, here is a link to some FAQs about donating marrow.

http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/When_You_re_Asked_to_Donate_fo/Donation_FAQs/index.html#pbsc_risks

 

[mari]

Do you watch All My Children? There's been a storyline like this for weeks now, except it's "would you donate to someone who hates you".

I'd probably go through with it, especially if I had a rare type. The guilt would get to me if I didn't.

 

[Geckothan]

No, I wouldn't. I'm not letting them use my organs when I die either unless they're going to family or friends.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Do you watch All My Children? There's been a storyline like this for weeks now, except it's "would you donate to someone who hates you".

I'd probably go through with it, especially if I had a rare type. The guilt would get to me if I didn't.

No, i don't watch AMC. That's a really interesting spin though.,,,

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Probably not.

 

[ancientone51]

Was on the list for some time. So I would have to answer yes, I would.
Never got called.

Got off when hubby got so ill, couldn't afford to be "out of commission" with him.

I believe I'm too old to be on it now.

 

[Withers]

I would absolutely do it if I could meet the person it was going to save. I couldn't, in good conscience, save the life of someone I had no idea about. What if I was saving a wife beater? Or a child molester? What if I was saving the life of a Rush Limbaugh or Glen Beck fan? I would find it harder to live with myself knowing those things were a possibility than I would thinking another nameless face somewhere out in the world had ceased to be.

Tell me who I'm saving and we'll talk. The appeal to save unnamed sentient beings from oblivion only works on me when "Angel" by Sarah McLaughlin is playing and pictures of abused puppies and kittens are shown in a slow motion montage. As far as I'm concerned most human beings can get bent.

-Withers-​

 

[Shaytan]

If I agree to put my name on the donnors list, I know the consequences and I accept the rules of the game so it would be a yes.

 

[T'Baio]

Only if I could meet them and judge whether they're worthy of my marrow. Then ask what they'll give me to save their life. It'd be cool playing God like that.

There's was an awesome episode or two of Rescue Me about this. "Give me my marrow back!"

 

[iguana_tonante]

Of course. Why not?

I thought they needed to do a bone-marrow extraction (and THAT would have been painful), but apparently now they can take it from your blood flows after you get a short medical treatment (basically, five injections). It doesn't sound painful or dangerous, maybe just a little uncomfortable.

Denying a life-saving procedure due to little discomfort would be extremely cold-hearted.

 

[Mr. B]

It's my understanding that the marrow "donation process" is quite unpleasant so... no. I wouldn't be interested in being in the registry to begin with.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Probably not.

+1

I don't know much about the process, if it's like a normal blood donation, then maybe. I once donated blood plasma though and that was not pleasant. Even though I got some money for that I wouldn't want to do it again.

If I did donate marrow in the OP's scenario though I absolutely would not want to meet the person who gets my bone marrow. What's the point of that - just to get a pat on the back or what? I wouldn't even want to know who gets it, doesn't matter at all imo.

 

[Adm_Hawthorne]

How could you not donate? Even if it's to someone you might find morally questionable, it's still a person. I believe that I should always do the right thing when I can, and helping to save someone's life is the right thing to do. As someone else said, the knowledge that I could have and didn't would eat me alive.

However, I would not want to meet them. I think it the curiosity of who the person is would eat me, but, like donating blood, not seeing the person makes it easier.

 

[Kirby]

^^^ I agree with Adm Hawthorne a little inconvenience from me could save someone's life. I donate blood as often as I can and that's no big deal.
Now, something like donating a kidney, I would have to give that a little thought, but marrow, I would probably do it.
I wouldn't want to meet the recipient though. They may tell the doctors to take it out...

 

[kustirider2]

If it can be done under general anaesthesia then yes, I would , but if it can't then I probably couldn't physically go through with it. I would like to, but I have a very low tolerance to pain and I just physically wouldn't be able to force myself.

 

[auntiehill]

Of course I would. It's a complete no-brainer to me. A little bit of discomfort is hardly a reason to deny someone the chance at life. I can't donate blood because of my own anemia, but I would if I could.

I watched a dear family friend, a little 7 year old boy, nearly die while waiting for a transplant. Thank God he was able to get one from his mother, and he barely pulled through the very dangerous treatment afterwards. But we all know that, because of his age, he will need another transplant by the time he's in his twenties.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

If I did donate marrow in the OP's scenario though I absolutely would not want to meet the person who gets my bone marrow. What's the point of that...

Well...she might be really hot.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Yes I would, no hesitation. I wouldn't need to meet the person because I think everyone is worthy of life. Even if he was a wife beater or someone else bad being so sick might change them for the better. I am not going to judge someone when it comes to a matter of life and death.

 

[iguana_tonante]

It's my understanding that the marrow "donation process" is quite unpleasant so... no. I wouldn't be interested in being in the registry to begin with.

If you would have clicked on the link provided, you would know that apparently there is little difference from plasma donation.

I must confess, I'm more than a little unnerved by most of the replies. Such disregard for a human life, any human life, is rather contemptible.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Of course I would. It's a complete no-brainer to me. A little bit of discomfort is hardly a reason to deny someone the chance at life. I can't donate blood because of my own anemia, but I would if I could.

I used to donate blood but the Red Cross refused to take my blood in the end because of my anemia.

I am not anemic any more but the Blood Bank has moved location and it is difficult for me to get to especially as I do not have a car.