Tricia, Sussex

I joined My Medical Choice just after it started up. I used my legal document to refuse a blood transfusion and have my son on standby as a private donor when I needed a hysterectomy.

Bam, Devon

I think the new site is much better and easier to use. I found the Advance Decision Notice a bit tricky to do when first I joined up, and had lots of help completing it and ordering alert tags. I’ve just tried the new version and think the tick box options with the explanation boxes on each directive is loads better and I’m pretty sure I could have completed it without help if I’d had that option before.

Sam, London

I was given a lot of help by admin and used my Pre-op Consultation Pack when I needed an operation at a private hospital last year. I was able to ask all the right questions of the surgeon to ensure I wouldn’t be given any drugs I didn’t agree with during the anaesthetic. I also handed over a copy of my ADN, so I felt secure they couldn’t change anything once I was sedated. It’s a shame we need this sort of service, but it’s the world we live in, unfortunately. It just gives me peace of mind.

Jenny, Bolton

The new advance directive form is great. I used the old one when I first joined and it took me ages to complete. I nearly gave up a couple of times! I whizzed through this one in 5 minutes – although to be fair, I’ve already spent months thinking over the sorts of medical treatments I want to refuse. I see more choices have been added to this ADN, and the info boxes are a brilliant idea. I used my phone to complete the form, so being able to do the lot online is such an improvement as I don’t have a printer. I like being able to see what the paramedics see, too.

Peter, Sussex

I used the Pre-op Consultation documents and my ADN to get answers to the questions that were important to me, and the knowledge I’ve gained regarding blood transfusions gave me the confidence to fully discuss my options for bloodless surgery with the medical staff – in truth, I think I educated quite a few of those on the subject of why blood is not needed. The peace of mind going into surgery was invaluable, and I am now recovering nicely.

Anne, Leeds

I had to wait over a year for a hernia op, but I used the time once I joined My Medical Choice to read up on the info they give members. At first I was aiming for having a private donor on standby during the op, but I then decided on bloodless surgery and none blood options from the info I got from MMC and liked that the recovery times were faster and much less things could go wrong. I was nervous at the appointment – even though I was using the pre-op guides. But I had all my questions planned out using the document for members and I think the consultant was impressed by my questions as he took the time to answer properly. He had a few questions when he read through my ADN. He mainly wanted to know about the resuscitation section, but I asked him to read the entire bit and he got it and was ok. The op went ahead without the option for a transfusion and they used bloodless surgery (keyhole, I think). I had to sign a few more papers but I was told no way could they ignore my ADN, so that took a huge weight off my mind.