[MonikaS (OP)]

Nonono not money, but blood or stem cells or organs.

Just today I donated 500ml of my blood. It's so easy, the donation itself takes about 15 mins, after that you rest a bit and eat and drink something - that's it. You might feel a bit woozy afterwards and shouldn't plan to do anything strenuous.
Studies have shown health benefits for regular donors, and you get a free medical exam, they test your blood for HIV, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. Here in Germany you might even get some money for your donation, yet another nice benefit.  [^]
So give it a thought, it's easy and has benefits not just for you but for others who need blood after an accident or during surgery.

You might have heard about stem cell or bone marrow transplantations as well. Here's the wikipedia article. Becoming a donor is easy enough, from a blood sample you give, your HLA factors are determined. Those data end up in a database. Now if someone is your genetic HLA twin, you'll be asked to give some of your stem cells, either from the bone marrow in your hip bone or by a procedure very similar to a blood donation. Should someone somewhere in the world be my HLA twin, I'd gladly give him/her those stem cells. This donation would make with some luck the difference between life and death for that other person, so what's some discomfort for me compared to that.

Organ donation is a bit harder to discuss, after all you'll be dead when it happens. Here in Germany you get yourself a donor card, fill it in with your information and place it in your wallet. That's it, should you end up dead in a hospital and should your organs like heart, lung, kidney, liver etc be usable, they will be given to someone else in need of them. I like the thought that someone else will have a chance of a decent life. I surely don't need them any more, but someone else just might!

Yeah... that's what I wanted to say... <stepping down from soap box>

[rosy]

Yup, went to the blood session last week, am on the  bone marrow register, and daveshorts (and my parents, and the rest of my housemates) has strict instructions to make sure someone considers me for spare parts if I fall under a bus. You can get donor cards in the UK, too, I keep one in my wallet, but generally making sure those around you know what you want is more useful as they'll always be asked before anything's used.

[Variola]

Just today I donated 500ml of my blood. It's so easy, the donation itself takes about 15 mins, after that you rest a bit and eat and drink something - that's it. You might feel a bit woozy afterwards and shouldn't plan to do anything strenuous.

Hey thats great well done!!!  []
Yes I am already registered as a bone marrow donor, I don't give blood regularly due to medications I am on plus I'm quite crap at giving blood!!
Bome marrow donation is done in two ways, the most common (85%)is harvested stem cells from the blood stream, its no more painful than giving blood. The less common way is surgically, taken direct from the pelvic bone and is done under a general anaesthetic.

[RD]

A single donor body can provide the raw material to generate products selling for US$220,000 wholesale

http://www.ocregister.com/features/body/index.shtml

A pity you can't get some of the cash "up front" (while alive)  []

[MonikaS (OP)]

WOW a human body is worth $220,000. Seems there is an industry behind all this. I've yet to find similar figures for Germany, but I guess it's about the same.

My veins are really deep and take some effort to find, but those nurses are really good at finding veins first try, better than any doctor I've met so far. The needle is a bit on the large side, but it's not really painful, just a bit umcomfortable. So giving blood is not hard for me, plus I make sure I'm really well hydrated. At the donation center they have a great selection of (non-alcoholic) beverages and they encourage you to drink lots. After the donation you can raid a fridge with lots of yummy foods and there's a bowl with fruits too. [] Donors are pampered to encourage donations, esp. in the summer there's a shortage. And that's why I encourage people by telling them it's easy and there's really nothing to be afraid of.
They now have a brand new donation center right in the middle of the city just to make it easier for people to donate right after shopping and it works too!

[Chemistry4me]

WOW a human body is worth $220,000.

However...

When we total the monetary value of the elements in our bodies and the value of the average person's skin, we arrive at a net worth of $4.50!

http://soundmedicine.iu.edu/archive/2003/quiz/humanWorth.html

[MonikaS (OP)]

Now I feel cheap  [:-'(]

[Chemistry4me]

I'm surpised it is $4.50, I didn't think it would be that much!

[Don_1]

I always carry a donor card & have done for many years. Lets face it, if I have no further use for my body parts, someone else might as well have them.

This subject always reminds me of the lyrics to a song by Trees 'Snail's Lament'

Live another life on me,
when you find it hard to cope.
Take my eye's if you can't see,
give them back when you find hope.
And if I shine brighter than I should,
take a little light from me.
Have anything that might do you good,
pass on anything you don't need.


Silly old sod, I just realised I put the first line down wrong. No point in donating my my brain for anything other than feeding Dung Beetles!


I offered to donate a body part to a young lady the other day, she kicked me in it! Theres gratitude for you!

[Variola]

Take a little light from me,
when you find it hard to cope.
Take my eye's if you can't see,
give them back when you find hope.
And if I shine brighter than I should,
take a little light from me.
Have anything that might do you good,
pass on anything you don't need.

Hey thats really nice, I like that a lot.

I offered to donate a body part to a young lady the other day, she kicked me in it! Theres gratitude for you!

At age 477 I'm surprised you can still do anything with it...  []

[Don_1]

At age 477 I'm surprised you can still do anything with it...  []

476 if you don't mind!!!

I eat all the right things to put lead in my pencil, trouble is, I've got nobody to write to!

[RD]

A debt-ridden salesman who tried to sell one of his own kidneys over the internet has been given a 12-month suspended jail sentence.
Daniel Tuck, from Oldbury, West Midlands, is the first person to be successfully prosecuted under a new law preventing the sale of body parts.
The 26-year-old tried to sell his kidney for £24,000 on a chatroom used by kidney disease sufferers.
The judge suspended his sentence for two years and ordered him to pay £250.
He had faced up to three years in jail for contravening the Human Tissue Act.
Tuck had previous convictions for theft and obtaining property by deception*.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/6646467.stm

[* so he was probably not going to part with one of his excretory glands]

China has denied a BBC report that organs taken from executed prisoners are sold for transplant.

The undercover BBC report said one hospital confirmed it could provide a liver for £50,000 ($94,400), and it could come from an executed prisoner.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5388464.stm

So kidneys (x2) and liver (x1) from a recently deceased individual have a black market value of ~ £100,000.

[Variola]

476 if you don't mind!!!

I eat all the right things to put lead in my pencil, trouble is, I've got nobody to write to!

 [] Maybe we should have a singles/flirty/adult fun thread on here..... most others seem to these days!!  [:I]

[JimBob]

I am donating my hip joints, femurs and my right shoulder to science after I am gone. I have replacement joints in all of those areas. They may as well learn from me how the technology is working and holding up so others can benefit.

[RD]

I am donating my hip joints, femurs and my right shoulder to science after I am gone.
 I have replacement joints in all of those areas.

Careful your metal bits don't end up being recycled into a Chevy chassis.  []