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Sunday, April 8, 2012

What You Lose When You Sign That Donor Card


I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal regarding a Donor Card. Do you know by agreeing to ‘Yes,’ you have literally  given your rights away? Yes. you will give your organs away, but it's much more. And it is quite disturbing …

“You're also giving up your right to informed consent. Doctors don't have to tell you or your relatives what they will do to your body during an organ harvest operation because you'll be dead, with no legal rights.” –cited from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204603004577269910906351598.html

--courtesy of bearcat8.wordpress.com

In most cases, this happened when someone is pronounced dead  —based on brain-death criteria.  Of course, this is what they have to say, “The exam for brain death is simple. A doctor splashes ice water in your ears (to look for shivering in the eyes), pokes your eyes with a cotton swab and checks for any gag reflex, among other rudimentary tests. It takes less time than a standard eye exam. Finally, in what's called the apnea test, the ventilator is disconnected to see if you can breathe unassisted. If not, you are brain dead. (Some or all of the above tests are repeated hours later for confirmation.)”  

--What if you are still alive even though your brain is dead?
“In a 1999 article in the peer-reviewed journal Anesthesiology, Gail A. Van Norman, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of Washington, reported a case in which a 30-year-old patient with severe head trauma began breathing spontaneously after being declared brain dead. The physicians said that, because there was no chance of recovery, he could still be considered dead. The harvest proceeded over the objections of the anesthesiologist, who saw the donor move, and then react to the scalpel with hypertension.”

Sometimes it pays when we have a good intentions, but if our good intentions backfire, we need to think twice. Perhaps we will get more than just a splash of icy water in our ears. And perhaps we would outlive after the possibility of being ruled as brain dead.
In any case, I am glad you are with me on this journey of visiting  What You Lose When You Sign That Donor Card and I hope this information would prove to be useful for you.

Did you check ‘yes’ on the Donor Card?You did? Think again!

Until next stop,
Journey of Life

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