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Ask HN: What are you thankful for?

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Re: Ask HN: What are you thankful for?

#151

Post by dang »

HNLurker2 wrote: post #128

I'm thankful I'm not born in USA

Please keep nationalistic flamebait far away from this site. We don't want it, or what it leads to.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Edit: since you've mostly been posting unsubstantive comments and/or breaking the site guidelines, I've banned this account again. If you don't want to be banned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com and give us reason to believe that you'll follow the rules in the future.

Abusing HN like that will eventually get your main account banned as well, so please don't.

Re: Ask HN: What are you thankful for?

#152

Post by NamTaf »

didgeoridoo wrote: post #11

I’m thankful for the heart donor who saved my newborn daughter’s life last week. My daughter contracted Coxsackie B enterovirus at 2 weeks old, and it scarred her left ventricle beyond repair. Her donor has given her a second chance. Another family had to make a heartbreaking choice at a devastating moment, and they chose to give life to my daughter and probably several other gravely ill infants. Check your organ don…

When my partner died (4 years ago now), this was one of the first things I got in order. The AUS organ donor registry was on the ball and actually contacted me first as soon as her death was flagged with with government (these things are time-critical), but I found it incredibly healing to go through the process of sorting this at a time when everything was spiralling out of control and understand that her death wasn’t entirely in vain.

I’ll never know who her skin went on to help, but I know she’d be overjoyed to know she made another final contribution to science.

Re: Ask HN: What are you thankful for?

#153

Post by NamTaf »

cgrealy wrote: post #90
vageli wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's amazing! I'm super happy for you and your family! > Your comment gave me pause because it reminded me that it is opt-in not opt-out. It is an election cycle, I wonder if we could convince one of the candidates to switch us to opt-out rather than opt-in for organ donation. While I am personally an organ donor, I don't believe the state should be the defacto owner of my organs post mortem.

I'm all for opt-out for a very simple reason.... doctors don't have to bother families in the midst of grief. If you don't believe the state should be the defacto owner of your organs (I'd argue it's the recipient that ultimately ends up owning them, but whatever), then you can opt out.

It’s odd here in AU. It is opt-in, but I still (as the de facto partner) had to give final authorisation to go ahead with it. I don’t quite get it, and wish it was more respectful of the deceased.

It’s worth noting though that the process of saying yes and sorting that all out was in fact incredibly healing and cathartic for me. I wouldn’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing for grieving families to be involved in.

Re: Ask HN: What are you thankful for?

#154

Post by NamTaf »

hereme888 wrote: post #26
27182818284 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's amazing! I'm super happy for you and your family! Your comment gave me pause because it reminded me that it is opt-in not opt-out. It is an election cycle, I wonder if we could convince one of the candidates to switch us to opt-out rather than opt-in for organ donation.

According to ethics textbooks, even if a person opted-in, the family could still say no to the doctors after the donor passed away.

This is the option I was given in Australia. I don’t quite understand it (I can see arguments, I’m not sure however if they’re valid), but I’m glad not for the choice but rather that I was involved in the process. It was healing.

Re: Ask HN: What are you thankful for?

#155

Post by happysadpanda2 »

vageli wrote: post #61
Aeolun wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So who do they belong to? The earth that they’re eventually going back to? I think emotionally I agree with you, but rationally I just cannot explain it.

I replied elsewhere in the thread, but in a tldr kind of way: I think next of kin should get the organs (or the estate, as another commenter mentioned). In the case where there is no next of kin and the deceased did not express their wishes (in a will or similar), then, and only then, should the state gain custody of the body and dispose of it as the state sees fit.

I'd disagree with "as the state sees fit".

I have no problems with my organs being used to help others, either as direct spare parts for others, or for medical research.

But I'd take issue with (well, I'd be dead, so I could no longer take issue, but you catch my drift) my organs being used for just about any other type of research, since that could include research into better ways of killing one another, which I would consider a "bad thing".

Re: Ask HN: What are you thankful for?

#156

Post by tlrobinson »

vageli wrote: post #20
27182818284 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's amazing! I'm super happy for you and your family! Your comment gave me pause because it reminded me that it is opt-in not opt-out. It is an election cycle, I wonder if we could convince one of the candidates to switch us to opt-out rather than opt-in for organ donation.

> That's amazing! I'm super happy for you and your family! > Your comment gave me pause because it reminded me that it is opt-in not opt-out. It is an election cycle, I wonder if we could convince one of the candidates to switch us to opt-out rather than opt-in for organ donation. While I am personally an organ donor, I don't believe the state should be the defacto owner of my organs post mortem.

While not strictly relevant, your comment reminded me of this article about how hard it apparently is to get the skull of a deceased relative in the US: “You Can’t Keep Your Parents’ Skulls” https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/09/why-you-...

(the Google searches it took me to find that article surely put me on some watch lists...)

Re: Ask HN: What are you thankful for?

#159

Post by patio11 »

I'm also quite thankful for HN, and the broader community ("software people"?), for helping me find something that I really enjoy doing and a community to be in the service of.

Other than that: family is relatively happy and healthy, and next to that there are few things to possibly ask for.

Re: Ask HN: What are you thankful for?

#160

Post by 0xcraft »

My kids are launching into adult life and finding their callings and paths.

I am thankful for my expanding understanding of family. My wife's ex is maybe not a brother but close. Our Christmas mornings have exes, current and former in-laws, kids, and extended family all mixed together in wonderful fun ways.

This year a half sister, I didn't know I had, connected with me. The first DNA relative I can talk with about tech. Now we are catching up on 40 plus years of life we didn't share!

The never ending energy to learn, grow, and expand my self awareness.

The many ways love comes to us.

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