Organ donation

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olly

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I was just wondering after watching a program yesterday......greys anatomy.....love it.

There was a young doctor pals who was on a vent,it seemed he could have had a few years left but decided to come off the vent and die.
The reason being he wanted to donate his organs but if he left it to die naturally it would probably be due to an infection and he would not be able to donate.
Has anyone seen this episode? Its just as the docs purchase the hospital.

I know its fictional but they have to get the medical stuff right.
I did not know you could not donate your organs if you died of infection.
Is anyone registered as a doner? did you know this?

I did get rather emotional when he was taken off the vent and he died,they had to quickly get the family out so they could harvest his organs within 5 minutes.
Very thought provoking stuff.
 
We missed that episode. Fooie! I'm an organ doner by the way.
 
It is not the infection per se but more the damage that the infection does to the organs that makes them inappropriate for transplant
 
You can't believe every thing they say on tv. I was watching a "House" show and House had a patient who supposedly had ALS. When he walked by the patient and slapped him on the leg the patient reacted and House said..."You can feel that".?..."you don't have ALS....Made me growl.....now thousands of people believe that ALS patients don't have feelings.....
 
I'm a donor too...................but it got me thinking..............Do they really use transplant materiel from people with ALS? I'm thinking that if I were offered an organ from an ALS patient that I would pass.

Before my diagnosis I was a big time blood donor but once I told them I have ALS they no longer call, I figured it was because nobody would chance receiving my blood.

Don't really know but if they want anything from what's left of me.........then they will be welcome to it. I imagine anything left would end up in a school somewhere where they could practice cutting things up.
 
I have taken myself off the organ donor list on the small chance that this devil of this disease includes prions. I will donate my brain to an ALS center for study but couldn't possibly take the chance that my organs might pass this devil on to someone else.
 
I heard that one of the companies testing the Stem Cell therapy was able to get them from the spinal cord of somebody who had donated it for research purposes.

NH
 
I have just received the forms for donation for studying ALS. I too would hate to think I might pass it on, irrational or not. this way it might still help someone. (and btw no they don't get much right on tv)
 
Thanks for the comments.
As als is a desease of the motor neurons and not organs would it be possible to pass it on?
There has never been any evidence that other systems of the body are effected by als.
I suppose if theres a family history then that would be different.
Though thinking about it alot of neurological illnesses have been found to have evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction.......could it be passed through that?
I do agree that donating for als research is probably the best thing to do.
 
It's good to see people thinking of donating to others and to science.
Because of the time-criticality of organ donation, a PALS' organ donation decision also impacts the manner-of-death decision.

To donate such "fresh" things as the heart, lungs and eyes, you need to die in a hospital where they can have your body fresh for the harvesting.
However, if you wish to die at home with your family, your donation choices might be more limited.

When my Krissy died at home at 8 pm, we were able to notify the Mayo donation coordinator quickly. The funeral home picked up the body at 9 pm, and Mayo borrowed the body to harvest the brain and stem. We were also able to have an open casket funeral.
 
As als is a desease of the motor neurons and not organs would it be possible to pass it on?
There has never been any evidence that other systems of the body are effected by als.
I suppose if theres a family history then that would be different.
Though thinking about it alot of neurological illnesses have been found to have evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction.......could it be passed through that?
I do agree that donating for als research is probably the best thing to do.

ALS is a disease of the Central Nervous System(CNS), totally independent of the vital organs of the body. Lung respiratory issues is caused by weakening of the intercostal muscles – “Several groups of muscles
that run between the ribs, and help form and move the chest wall. The intercostal muscles are mainly involved in the mechanical aspect of breathing. These muscles help expand and shrink the size of the chest cavity when you breathe”.

Is it possible to pass on sporadic ALS, highly unlikely, familial ALS I would say highly unlikely also. I would have no issues receiving an organ from someone who had ALS because I know this disease but I think I would probably be in the minority.

Again, mitochondrial dysfunction in the CNS. Which looks like a consequence of the disease not a cause.
 
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