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HOTA - Voluntary?

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 6:06 pm
by Way2GO
I heard on d radio dat Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said
dat organ donation ought to be voluntary.

I find dis term "voluntary' at odds with one having to
opt out of d HOTA scheme if one doesn't want to donate organs upon death.

Shouldn't voluntary means to opt in?
How many ppl r unwittingly in d scheme without knowing?

Re: HOTA - Voluntary?

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:16 pm
by teh_oh
Way2GO wrote:I heard on d radio dat Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said
dat organ donation ought to be voluntary.

I find dis term "voluntary' at odds with one having to
opt out of d HOTA scheme if one doesn't want to donate organs upon death.

Shouldn't voluntary means to opt in?
How many ppl r unwittingly in d scheme without knowing?
In HOTA, unless you are muslims, you have to opt out if you do not want your organs to be used upon your death.

HOTA applies to all Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents between 21 and 60 years of age. It also does not apply to those of unsound mind. Muslims are not included under HOTA on religious grounds.

http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/legislati ... id=12426#6

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:29 pm
by Way2GO
teh_oh, I'm aware of wat u wrote.
I was struck by d Health Minister's remark dat
organ donation ought to be voluntary
Ppl were co-opt into d scheme by default,
it wasn't voluntary, was it?

Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 7:33 am
by swimironkids
Way2GO wrote:teh_oh, I'm aware of wat u wrote.
I was struck by d Health Minister's remark dat
organ donation ought to be voluntary
Ppl were co-opt into d scheme by default,
it wasn't voluntary, was it?

yes u r right..by default we r in so its not V..i wasnt even aware untill i heard him over the radio..so his report is unaccurrate in this sense
I was real mad to be honestly. :stupid: :stupid:

Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:47 am
by teh_oh
I guess voluntary means you have the option to opt out. It is afterall not compulsory if you can opt out. This is not like some telco which sneakily sign you up for services that you want by default; organs save lives; hence making it voluntary signing up will reduce the pool of donors because a lot of people will not know and willing to part with their loved ones' parts in times of distress.
JMHO.

Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:54 am
by raynreg
Way2GO, i agree with you on the voluntary part. I would have view this HOTA thing more positively if MOH approach was for people to opt-in voluntarily rather than passing a blanket law to scope us all in and put the onus on us to opt-out if we do not want to be into this.

But i guess, they get better "response" rate to do the blanket coverage thing rather than spending time & money on educating our people on the benefits of HOTA.

Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 1:06 pm
by Way2GO
teh_oh wrote:I guess voluntary means you have the option to opt out.
teh-oh, u just changed d common understanding of 'voluntary'!
Voluntary in common usage is taken to mean doing or undertaking some task
of one’s own accord or free will; n by law dat something is done without compulsion.
I know d rationale behind HOTA n agree with its purpose but I don’t agree with d method of implementation.
No member of my family opted out.
Sneaky is a good way to put it, but not quite appropriate as HOTA was made known in d media.
My question was how many ppl missed it n r unwittingly in d scheme without knowing?

Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 8:51 pm
by teh_oh
Way2GO wrote:
teh_oh wrote:I guess voluntary means you have the option to opt out.
teh-oh, u just changed d common understanding of 'voluntary'!
Voluntary in common usage is taken to mean doing or undertaking some task
of one’s own accord or free will; n by law dat something is done without compulsion.
I know d rationale behind HOTA n agree with its purpose but I don’t agree with d method of implementation.
No member of my family opted out.
Sneaky is a good way to put it, but not quite appropriate as HOTA was made known in d media.
My question was how many ppl missed it n r unwittingly in d scheme without knowing?
Way2Go,
To clarify, I don't actually understand what your first post is about :oops:. I just want to clarify that HOTA is an 'all inclusive' organs donation programme (in case some of us are not sure, as you put it 'r unwittingly in d scheme without knowing') in which you can 'opt-out' and I support this 'blanket' feature and had explained to older members of my family as I respect that most older generation folks are not comfortable with organ donation.
Ignorance is bliss in certain cases and definitely a blessing for some others.
If I remember correctly, if one opt out, he/she will be placed in a lowers 'priority list' of organ donations which will be detrimental if he/she needs one in the future.
Let's embrace this positively erh? :)

Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:15 pm
by verykiasu2010
it puts a new dimension of what the government owns