> Draw what conclusions from that you will

An obvious complication here is that in an opt-in system, people who have more directly faced the possibility of death (extreme sports participants, people with chronic conditions, etc) may be more likely to be donors.

To get numbers with fewer confounding factors, you would need to look at an opt-out system and compare the default opt-in population with a reasonably comparative slice of people who are not automatically donors but have neither intentionally opted out, such as, in the case of the new NHS policy, 'people who have lived in England for less than 12 months before their death'.

> And second, if you have any plans or hopes for cryogenic preservation

If you're planning for cryogenic suspension after death (actually planning for it, not just idly thinking about it), filling out an opt-out form is just a minor footnote compared to the piles of other paperwork needed to set up a legal trust to preserve your body.

Also, just on a human level, people don't want to be chopped up and parcelled out as used parts for other people. I don't feel that way, but I understand how people can feel that way and we should respect their wishes.

...in which case it's easy to opt out, for the people who do feel that way.

But they can't if they don't know it's opt-out, which is why thread OP argues that BBC should announce this.

I don’t agree that their irrational preferences trump others’ right to live, but let’s assume they do. In that case, they should automatically forfeit the right to receive transplants. Not just be put at the back of the queue, but be banned altogether.

>if you have any plans or hopes for cryogenic preservation, that's not particularly compatible with organ donation.

I believe they only freeze the head with the brain intact, when one opts for cryonics.

Full-body cryogenic preservation is available, albeit much more expensive.

Interesting. I understand the argument may be that you are you, but personally if I were to go through the hassle of cryonics and wake up on the other side, I'd hope to be met with the best body available for the given time.

What a loss it would be to come back and be the only one without gills!

i am sorry but your old brain is not compatible with our current bodies. unfortunately those old style bodies have fallen out of fashion and we no longer have people trained in their creation. if only you had decided to freeze your whole body, or at least the torso, as we can replace arms and legs with prosthetics.