Reply To: Are hospitals "organ harvest happy"?

Popa: you crack me up…

Ubiq: Thanks for your detailed reply. However, I did some more research and it’s obviously not so simple. It’s easy to say that the diagnosis (read: verdict) was wrong, and true brain death is actually irreversible. However, if medical personnel keep on making the same mistake, something is fishy. I understand no one is perfect, but when it comes to life and death issues such as capital punishment there are numerous appeals dragging on for years. Here a diagnosis must be made within hours (or risk organ death which is the whole point) so there should be zero tolerance or possibility of human error. That’s assuming all involved are actually acting in good faith.

There was a 2012 WSJ article about this topic titled “What You Lose When You Sign that Donor Card”. Contrary to what you are saying, there was a documented case of organs being harvested AFTER THE PATIENT STARTED BREATHING SPONTANEOUSLY AS HE SUPPOSEDLY HAD NO CHANCE TO RECOVER.

It’s also troubling that they can react to the pain, and may be given light anesthesia. The cortex — or thinking part of the brain — is generally not tested for waves as current law doesn’t require it. (The logic is that if one’s brain stem controlling breathing etc. isn’t functioning the higher part of the brain surely isn’t, although prior studies have shown this to be wrong in a percentage of cases.)

Finally each body’s organs can be valued at over $2 million, so yes, legal organ harvesting is a major business -to the tune of $20 billion in 2012 – in the US. (G-d forbid you help match live kidney donors for a buck though…)