I wonder if they'd accept an organ by a weed smoker.

We (people with MS) aren't allowed to donate blood in Canada, and our organ transplant policies follow the same rules, effective December, 2007:

"We'll be asking about things like travel, history of infectious disease, whether they've [donors] been in jail — that puts you at increased risk," Nickerson (director of Transplant Manitoba) said. "Have they been an IV drug abuser in the past? Have they had tattoos? There's a whole list of questions we go through."

“They are also asked about the donor's sexual orientation. The donor will be excluded if the donor is a man who had sex with another man in the previous five years.

“. . . transplant programs must now by law interview family members of the donor as part of the screening process.”

“Transplant programs have been screening potential donors, but in some cases use organs from people in high-risk groups if they've tested negative for diseases. The new legislation means that practice must stop.”

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/...ransplant.html

On the other hand, we (PwMS) might benefit from someone else's organ in the future.

"ASHLEY HALL: Doctors in Sydney may have stumbled across the holy grail of transplant surgery.

A young liver transplant patient has taken on the immune system of her donor . . . The doctors aren't exactly sure how it happened, but they do see potential benefits for other transplant patients, as well as for sufferers of auto-immune diseases like multiple sclerosis and type-one diabetes . . ."

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s2146056.htm

The UK has been contemplating a "opt-out" system, whereby consent is automatically presumed when someone dies, i.e. no need to sign a organ donor card. Personally, I think they are playing with fire if they go this route and I would be surprised if they ever end up with a "hard" opt-out system (no discussion what-so-ever with family).

Besides the fact that they might not want our MS-infested organs in case we inadvertently pass on our immune system (this has occurred in the US too, apparently), they don't even know what causes MS yet. For all we know, it may be a virus or bacteria, combined with a certain genetic make-up (and/or other environmental factors), that might transfer to others.

I was an organ and blood donor up till 1991 when I was dx with MS. I pulled my card then because until they know the CAUSE of MS, I don't want to take any unnecessary chances in passing it on.

Cherie