Even though you are probably at far less risk of needing to make end-of-life decisions at this point, it is always a good idea to make your wishes known and to put them into writing. As you age, you may change your mind for any number of reasons such as a new disease process or changes in technology that are unknown today.

Organ donation is not necessarily an issue for your parents, as due to their advanced age, most of their organs would not be accepted. However, their corneas may be of use, and in some instances, they may be able to donate their body or organs to a medical school. Organ donation is a subject to give plenty of consideration to. In the event of your untimely death, you could save the life of someone else. You can designate which organs can be donated if you have concerns about having all of your organs harvested.

Even if you are just having some minor surgery today, the hospital will ask you about advance directives. If something were to go awry during surgery, who would make decisions for your care? In most instances, one would assume it would be your spouse, but what if your adult children disagree, or your parents? Suddenly, the doctor and hospital can be caught in the middle, and without written instructions from you, they will do whatever causes the least possibility of legal disputes. Protect yourself and your loved ones by assigning a health-care proxy and completing your advance directives.