5 ms·
My biggest issue with organ donation is that 'brain death' still isn't terribly well understood. There are sensors that can be used to determine blood flow, fin
by wing-_-nuts 2y ago
My biggest issue with organ donation is that 'brain death' still isn't terribly well understood. There are sensors that can be used to determine blood flow, fine grained brain activity, etc, but they aren't universally widespread. Reading the accounts of patients with 'locked in' syndrome really spooked me. I wouldn't want to live like that, but I'd want to be anesthetized the same as any other surgery before organ donation.
Every doctor I've asked about this has dismissed my concern out of hand as if I'd just said vaccines cause autism. I simply cannot trust that my wishes would be honored, and thus my answer on the 'organ donor' question is no.
- wl 2y agoBrain death presents differently than locked-in syndrome. It’s diagnosed by weaning a patient off drugs that could impair breathing and then seeing if the patient breathes on their own. If they don’t breathe on their own, the assumption is that the brainstem is no longer functioning and that’s what’s meant by “brain death.”
- wing-_-nuts 2y agoMy grandfather had a stroke which affected his ability to breathe on his own. He was placed on life support for a little while. I was told he finally indicated he did not wish to remain on it (somehow, I wasn't there), and he was disconnected and allowed to pass. My point isn't that he was 'brain dead', but that higher order cognitive function can remain even after someone loses the ability to breathe on their own. I'd have no desire to cling to life in his condition, but I'd want to avoid any possibility of being around for the final harvesting operation.
- wl 2y agoThe test isn’t that someone can’t breathe effectively on their own, but that they don’t even try.