Why should I opt out of HOTA?
I received a small booklet from Ministry of Health titled “Understanding HOTA”. It’s addressed to “The Resident”. I assume every household in Singapore would have received one copy of this.
Basically, the booklet attempts to explain the importance of opting in to organ transplant. First of all, I must say that I agree with the act of donating your organs to someone who needs it. Signing into HOTA would increase the likelihood of someone (who needs a organ transplant) finding a match. What I do not agree is that in Singapore, this is a auto opt in scheme without the explicit consent of the individual.
Well, one can argue that by automatically signing everyone up for HOTA we would increase the number of donors quickly without the hassle of educating the people the importance of organ transplant.
I am against the idea of automatically signing everyone up without the explicit consent of the individual. Not so long ago, there was a family who is affected by this act. The breadwinner of the family was hospitalized and subsequently diagnosed as brain-dead. The patient didn’t sign up for the HOTA himself. However, under the Singapore law, everyone is automatically signed up for HOTA. The family members asked the hospital to delay the execution of the HOTA. The request is denied and the patient is harvested for his organ(s).
Who is to decide whether to shut off the life support for the patient. I would think that the most appropriate would be for the family to decide and NOT the hospital. Furthermore, there are cases where supposedly brain-dead patients are known to wake up from their long sleep.
Please sign out of HOTA to save your family the agony of seeing yourself being harvested. Remember it’s your life, your choice. Make it today.
