A topic that I have been wanting to look at for quite a while has been that of organ donation. I wish to thoroughly look at it from all angles. I had intended to begin at the beginning and determine if donation in itself was moral. I believe it is. God gave us minds to think and use for the good of mankind. I was; however deterred from this initial discussion when I heard the following story.
I was recently having a discussion with a friend about the tragic death of her husband. He was killed in a motorcycle accident, was a known organ donor, had a signed donor card and because the practioners were not able to reach her his perfectly healthy organs went to waste. I feel so sad. Both for her loss and for the lives that could have been saved. As the conversation progressed she mentioned personal knowledge of a friend of hers who passed away from a blood clot. He was gay and died in the arms of a life long partner. Upon offering his organs for donation this grieved man was told that the organs were not appropriate for donation, because the donor had had sexual relations with another man in the past five years. Now, the argument over whether or not homosexuality is a sin should not commence here. That is conversation for another place and time. I am looking at whether or not perfectly healthy organs should be used for donation to save lives or if they should be turned away for no other reason than that the donor was gay.
Upon looking at the issue a bit deeper this link was found. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/414107 you may read if for yourself, but most importantly it states that while being gay does not preclude you from organ donation being gay and sexually active does. I find it terrible to think that one would rather be dead, or let someone die, than to have a gay man be a donor. Of course, the donor must be found to have healthy disease free organs. My research on this topic has only just begun and I am looking for responsible open minded feed back.
