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Living wills and advance directives for medical decisions
Organ donation
You can also specify in your advance directives any wishes you have about donating your organs, eyes and tissues for transplantation or your body for scientific study. If you wish to donate your body for scientific study, contact the medical school closest to your home for details.
Share your wishes with your family
Injury, illness and death aren't easy subjects to talk about, but by planning ahead you can ensure that you receive the type of medical care you want. You also relieve your family of the burden of trying to guess what you'd want done. Be sure to discuss your wishes with your loved ones. Let them know you're creating advance directives and explain your feelings about medical care and what you'd want done in specific instances.
Fill out the forms for your state
Your advance directives should be in writing. Each state has its own laws regarding advance directives. Although it isn't required, you may want to consult an attorney about this process. State-specific forms are available from a variety of websites, such as the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
Once you've filled out the forms, give copies to your doctor, the person you've chosen as your health care agent and your family members. Keep another copy in a safe but accessible place. You might also want to keep a card in your wallet that says you have a living will and where it can be found.
Review your advance directives from time to time
As your health changes or your perspective on life changes, you might reconsider some of your advance directives. Read over your advance directives from time to time to see if you want to revise any of the instructions. You can change your mind about your advance directives at any time.
To revise your advance directives, you follow the same steps you used to create them. Get new advance directive forms to fill out. Discuss your changes with your friends, family and doctor. Then distribute copies of the new advance directives and ask everyone to destroy the earlier version.
If there isn't time to redo the paperwork, you can always cancel your advance directive by telling your doctor and your family. Remember, a living will or medical POA goes into effect only if you are unable to make medical decisions for yourself, as determined by your doctors.
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- Put it in writing: Questions and answers on advance directives. American Hospital Association. http://www.putitinwriting.org/putitinwriting/content/piiwbrochure.pdf. Accessed April 7, 2011.
- Advance directives. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/support/advance-directives. Accessed April 7, 2011.
- Healthcare agents: Choosing one and being one. National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. http://www.caringinfo.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3286. Accessed April 7, 2011.
- What to do if family members disagree. National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. http://www.caringinfo.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3280. Accessed April 7, 2011.
- How to select your health care agent or proxy. American Bar Association. http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/aging/toolkit/tool1.pdf. Accessed April 7, 2011.
- Download your state's advance directives. National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. http://www.caringinfo.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3289. Accessed April 7, 2011.
- Myths and facts about health care advance directives. American Bar Association. http://apps.americanbar.org/aging/pdfs/mythsfacts0409.pdf. Accessed April 7, 2011.
- Strong CW. Avoiding confusion: Pay attention to donation language in an advance directive. http://www.unos.org/docs/Update_SepOct10_InAdvance.pdf. United Network for Organ Sharing. Accessed April 7, 2011.
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