By DICK TERESI
Giving away your organs sounds noble, but have doctors blurred the line between life and death?
The article below quotes Robert Truog, professor of medical ethics, anesthesia and pediatrics at Harvard MedicalSchool , about the possible pain felt by an organ donor who has been declared brain dead. Mr. Teresi writes that Dr. Truog “compared the topic of pain in an organ donor to an argument over ‘whether it is OK to kick a rock.’ ” A review of Mr. Teresi’s notes after the publication of the essay reflects that Dr. Truog, when asked whether a donor feels pain, said “it’s like kicking a rock.” Dr. Truog, however, denies that he used the analogy. “I can tell you in the strongest possible terms that I am certain I never said anything like this.” In a separate issue, recipients of single-organ transplants—heart, intestine, kidney, liver, single and double lung and pancreas—are charged an average $470,000, ranging from $288,000 for a kidney transplant to $1.2 million for an intestine transplant, according to consulting firm Milliman. A previous version of this article incorrectly said that average recipients are charged $750,000 for a transplant, and that at an average 3.3 organs, that is more than $2 million per body.
The last time I renewed my driver’s license, the clerk at the DMV asked if she should check me off as an organ donor. I said no. She looked at me and asked again. I said, “No. Just check the box that says, ‘I am a heartless, selfish bastard.’”
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.
Becoming an organ donor seems like a win-win situation. Some 3.3 people on the transplant waiting list will have their lives extended by your gift (3.3 is the average yield of solid organs per donor). You’re a hero, and at no real cost, apparently.
But what are you giving up when you check the donor box on your license? Your organs, of course—but much more. 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.
MORE HERE:
Source: The Wall Street Journal – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204603004577269910906351598
Giving away your organs sounds noble, but have doctors blurred the line between life and death?
The article below quotes Robert Truog, professor of medical ethics, anesthesia and pediatrics at Harvard Medical
The last time I renewed my driver’s license, the clerk at the DMV asked if she should check me off as an organ donor. I said no. She looked at me and asked again. I said, “No. Just check the box that says, ‘I am a heartless, selfish bastard.’”
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.
Becoming an organ donor seems like a win-win situation. Some 3.3 people on the transplant waiting list will have their lives extended by your gift (3.3 is the average yield of solid organs per donor). You’re a hero, and at no real cost, apparently.
But what are you giving up when you check the donor box on your license? Your organs, of course—but much more. 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.
MORE HERE:
Source: The Wall Street Journal – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204603004577269910906351598
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