This is called your healthcare surrogate or medical POA. It’s a simple form that in most states you can find online to print, although you’ll probably need a notary to sign. Most hospitals have someone on staff who can do this for you, even if you’re not a current patient, for little or no cost.

Peace Train!

For what it’s worth, I’m 45 and still dreaming of being on SNL.

This reads like straight propaganda. “Don’t believe your eyes and ears, people. Everyone else LOVES the horrifying, inhumane, and thoughtless destruction of institutions, checks and balances, and a social safety net.”

Done! And well done, young sir!

Totally agree!! I would never even think to ask someone that question if I wasn’t invested in genuine connection and building trust and rapport.

Of course, there are always exceptions. Hopefully folks in these situations know to say “A little bit of everywhere” or “none of your business,” which is totally understandable. But i don’t know that throwing the baby out w/ the bath water of genuine curiosity is the answer. Tone is everything, IMO.

I ask everyone I meet and have more than a two-minute conversation with where they’re from. I’m not from the town I live in — maybe they know my hometown in Illinois? Or are from where I went to college? We know the same holes in the wall or restaurants? It’s a way to build rapport. I use it daily.

Maybe the problem isn’t the asking of “where are you from?” but the disbelief when they say Dallas or New Jersey and insistence on asking where someone is “really” from? I ask people all the time where they’re from, because I’m interested in getting to know them, and then I just… believe them.

I have seen many families traumatized by this process, when they are approached by the organ donor org, say they need to think it over, and then are told there is nothing for them to think over, it’s happening, and it’s happening on the org’s timeline.

My issue is that when they asked me if I wanted to be an organ donor while renewing my license, I was in essence signing a contract that may take away the right of my loved ones to make decisions for my end-of-life care based on the specific circumstances or other factors relevant to my situation.

My issue is not with organ donation itself — I know very well how important it is, and the incredible good that can come from it.

If you put your name on the registry, the “gift procurement”organization can and will override the decisions or concerns of the family/HCS in order to “honor your wishes.” And the law is on their side, because being on the registry, which happens when you say YES at the DMV, is legally binding.

This means that, if you are unable to make decisions for yourself, your family and/or healthcare surrogate (HCS) may have little to no say in how your end-of-life care is carried out.