Source: Washington Post
by Etan Yeshua
“Perhaps it is appropriate to disempower a grieving family and uphold a patient’s decision to donate if we are confident we know the patient’s wishes; but a lone checkbox among many others in a DMV form hardly clarifies those wishes …. I removed my name from the donor registry, told my husband that I generally wish to donate and revised my advance directive (often called a living will, which describes one’s medical treatment preferences) to correct the power imbalance codified in the law: ‘I hereby revoke from any OPO (organ procurement organization) the authority to require organ procurement or extend my time on life support. I give my husband the authority to decide whether to make a gift of my organs and under what circumstances.'” (02/22/26)