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Post by gato on Jan 5, 2020 7:57:29 GMT -5
Would you donate your heart or liver to the transplant program here in the US, if you knew your organ would wind up in the body of a wealthy Saudi oil baron? The good news is that as a donor, you'll never know, what with being dead and all. The bad news is that the diversion of donated organs to the wealthy, who fly here for the sole purpose of getting a needed organ, is entirely legal and has been for some time. Of course, a billionaire from the Middle East, can't elbow his way to the front of the line, (same waiting list), but he can get preferential treatment. For instance, renting a whole wing of a hospital for his operation and recovery. And a US citizen may die because the heart he or she needed, went to that foreign national instead. To an ethicist the issue may be grounded simply in need: a life is a life is a life. But as a guy who's driver's license has the organ donor box checked, it just seems unfair. What say you? www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/liver-transplant-wait-times-medical-tourism-foreign-patients |
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Post by rickyguitar on Jan 5, 2020 19:55:13 GMT -5
Well, not sure if u would be happier resupplying David Crosby or the Duke of Power. Being dead would be a benefit. I guess whoever is next is fine. Kinda hoping I dont need someone else's parts.
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Post by SteveM on Jan 5, 2020 22:49:18 GMT -5
But what if you do know? What if there's consciousness in your heart. What if my liver goes into a middle eastern potentate and immediately starts asking what happened to the beer?
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Post by Dr Bass MD on Jan 5, 2020 23:27:42 GMT -5
...Of course, a billionaire from the Middle East, can't elbow his way to the front of the line, (same waiting list), but he can get preferential treatment. For instance, renting a whole wing of a hospital for his operation and recovery. And a US citizen may die because the heart he or she needed, went to that foreign national... I think you may be playing both sides here. If both are in the same line, and there’s no ‘jumping’? The person later in line will always have that disadvantage, and risk of dying. Irrespective of the nationality of those in front of him/her. JMHO |
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Cassie Play
Halfnote
Everythings Malfunctioning Imperfectly.
Posts: 89
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Post by Cassie Play on Jan 6, 2020 4:55:46 GMT -5
As a donor I can say I've never thought of that. It just never occurred to me for some reason. I just felt like at least I could be useful after I was gone. Transplantation has come a long way since I was kid. Doctors say it's a normal thing now. The waiting lists are long and organs are in short supply. I'm hoping eventually they will be able to actually grow new ones.
As a recipient it can be overwhelming to think that someone else's organs are keeping you alive. Funny thing is I'm still an organ donor. Plus, they used my bad organs to train Doctors. Where I live the sickest patients are moved to the top of the line so I went from not on the list to the very top in less than a week and had surgery 2 days later. They managed to keep me alive for 2 years before that.
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Post by gato on Jan 6, 2020 7:30:21 GMT -5
My observation about the Middle Eastern billionaire was in the fairness aspect. We in America can provide donated organs for anyone in the world. As long as they have the money. Would an indigent Pakistani laborer in Saudi Arabia, be flown to NYC to be afforded the same opportunity? Would Saudi Arabia allow a donated heart from one of their citizens to be transplanted into a Western infidel? My cousin in Pennsylvania lost one of her close friends who needed a heart in 1993. Although she had been on the list for months, the Pennsylvania governor bumped her only hours after he was "listed". The workaround was that he needed a heart AND a liver. The donor they found provided both, so why not give the Gov both? Which is what they did, after taking the donor off life support, because the Gov was "sicker". The fact that he was on the top of the heap politically was just happenstance. Coincidentally, this took place at a hospital which had provided Saudi billionaire transplants in the past. A spokesperson for United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) agreed the case was "unusual". www.deseret.com/1993/6/17/19052276/pennsylvania-governor-gets-heart-liver-from-victim-of-beating |
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JDC
Wholenote
I STILL say: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Posts: 528
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Post by JDC on Jan 6, 2020 14:31:12 GMT -5
I'm a registered donor. That said, I've wondered whether or not doctors would actually deem it wise, or a good use or resources, to put my geezer organs (which are already nearing their "best if used by" dates lol) into a patient who will, ostensibly, outlive the transplanted organ.
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