As a child, I didn't trust doctors. By the time I was 10, I already had 15 surgeries. From age 13 to age 14, I was part of what would be a 2 year experiment to help get rid of my allergies. My allergies didn't get better, but I started getting major headaches. I now don't want to get rid of my allergies as I realized the problem was where we lived. The vegetation. Whenever we had a vacation in warmer climate with different vegetation, I was okay. I realize what was wrong was being in a location that went against my nature. At the 1 year mark, I had to write a review of the treatment and was honest that nothing changed allergy-wise and that there were several side-effects. The doctor asked me not to write this because "next year, your allergies will disappear and so will the headaches". As a 14 year old wanting to get out of there, I decided to write as she asked me to, but remember being on the bus and making the decision to never see a doctor again. That was 35 years ago and I haven't seen one since.
When I got my driver's license, I was asked if I wanted to be an organ donor, and I spontaneously and instinctively blurted out "NO!".
Little did I know just how valid my concern was. Whether you become an organ donor or not is a personal decision, but it needs to be based on having all the information.
Here are some things you may not know:
- During the harvesting, the donor has to be alive, but the brain has to be declared dead.
- There will be no anesthesia given assuming the donor will not feel pain.
- Medication will be administered to control blood pressure rising out of control and to also control muscle spasms and cramps. This is an indicator that in fact the donor will feel unbelievable pain as if you were to have your body opened up while alive. Brain function is not necessary to feel pain, the same way people with higher IQ are not going to experience pain stronger than those with lower IQ.
- What determines brain death varies from hospital to hospital. Some tests are so basic, that you need to wonder whether or not there is actually an attempt to revive a subject who has expensive organs in his body.
- There have been several cases of donors waking up right before the harvesting already declared brain dead that we know about. Could there be cases where someone woke up during the proceeding that we don't know about?
- Do you trust the medical industry to do right by you? Profit margin in organ transplants dwarfs that of bring you back to life after a tragic accident. Do you believe all hospitals and doctors put your best chance of recovery above making Millions off of what your body contains? How comfortable do you feel at another one's mercy who would financially benefit from doing what goes against your needs?
- Many of the medications that could save a potential donors life can also damage his/her organs and there are numerous reports of such being denied to those on the organ donor list.
Need more?
I am all about helping people, but ask yourself this:
If you were in need of someone else's organs and had the following choices:
a) die now
b) get someone's organs but at the end of your life, you will have your organs removed and will feel the entire procedure.
What would you choose?
It's a) for me.
Here is more: