Woman's Waking After Brain Death Raises Many Questions About Organ Donation

LifeSiteNews ^ | 5/27/08 | Hilary White

[wagglebee]

CHARLESTON, West Virginia, May 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Virginia family was shocked but relieved when their mother, Val Thomas, woke up after doctors said she was dead. 59 year-old Mrs. Thomas, while being kept breathing artificially, had no detectable brain waves for more than 17 hours. The family were discussing organ donation options for their mother when she suddenly woke up and started speaking to nurses. Ethicists have strongly criticised developments in organ donation criteria that would have made Mrs. Thomas a candidate for having her organs removed before she woke up.

At 1:30 am Saturday May 17, Mrs. Thomas' heart had stopped beating and she had no pulse when the family called paramedics. She was without a heartbeat or oxygen for 15 to 20 minutes before being put on a ventilator and transported to a Charleston, West Virginia hospital.

An attempt was made to lower her body temperature but her heart stopped three times causing doctors to estimate that her chance of survival was less than 10 per cent. The ventilator was kept running for nearly 18 hours and rigor mortis had set in while Mrs. Thomas' family considered organ donation. The decision was taken to discontinue life support but ten minutes into the process, Mrs. Thomas moved her arm and began speaking to nurses.

Mrs. Thomas is being examined in a clinic in Cleveland to investigate her heart problems.

Physicians, bioethicists and governments continue to debate the issue of brain death criteria for purposes of organ transplants and determining the exact moment of death has been a source of contention since organ transplants became common. Controversy continues to swirl around the issue as patients in apparently hopeless comatose conditions continue to confound doctors' expectations and awaken.

The problem is time and the rapid deterioration of most vital organs after the cessation of heart function. After death, corneas and bone marrow can still be used but soft vital organs such as the heart, lungs, pancreas and kidneys rapidly deteriorate and are unusable within a few hours. Traditional medical ethicists contend that soft and easily damaged organs such as the heart are impossible to obtain morally since they deteriorate more quickly and must be removed when a patient's condition is still disputed. 

One of the most recent and contentious developments is the concept of "non-heart beating organ donation" (NHBD) in which organs are removed from a body as little as five minutes after the cessation of the heart function. In a facility where such criteria are followed, had other factors been favourable and given her lack of brain function, Mrs. Thomas might have been pronounced dead and been a candidate for removal of organs as soon as she arrived at the hospital.

The procedure is also known as donation after cardiac death (DCD), and typically involves a person who requires a ventilator and, while having measurable brain function, is determined to have no hope of recovery. After this judgement is made, doctors remove ventilation from the patient and wait for the heart to stop beating. If the heart stops for five minutes, death is pronounced and the organs are harvested by another surgical team.

The definition of "brain death" also remains controversial, but DCD is even more contested since the method leaves little time for ethical considerations. With "brain death" organs can be harvested at leisure since machines keep air flowing into the lungs and blood circulating; with DCD the stoppage of the heart necessitates very quick harvesting as organs deteriorate without blood flow.

Doctor John B. Shea, medical advisor to Canada's Campaign Life Coalition told LifeSiteNews.com that DCD does represent a potential threat to comatose patients.

Donors for DCD are chosen, he said, not because they are dead, but because their organs are particularly desirable for transplant. Dr. Shea said in a 2006 interview, "The typical scenario for such organ harvesting is a young person between the age of 5-55 who is in good health, is in intensive care due to an automobile accident and is on a ventilator.  The doctor makes an arbitrary decision that treatment is futile."

"Those donors are known not to be brain dead but are usually first in a coma and the doctor decides treatment is futile."

See dramatic YouTube video of news report on Thomas's return from brain death
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=zbaiC9N6bGU&feature=user

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Controversial Organ Donation Method Begins in Canada - Organs Extracted 5 Minutes after Heart Stops
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06062707.html

Organ Transplant Doctor Investigated in Non-Heart Beating Donation Case
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07030903.html

[wagglebee]

"Those donors are known not to be brain dead but are usually first in a coma and the doctor decides treatment is futile."

The culture of deaths considers actual death to be a formality.

[wagglebee]

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[steve-b]

Woman's Waking After Brain Death

[wagglebee]

Ping

[The_Media_never_lie]

Wonder what kind of recovery and quality of life she can expect?

[BlueStateBlues]

My personal opinion, but under no circumstance sign an organ card. The brain knows what’s occurring after what doctrors now call ‘death’ and they start to cut. This woman’s experience should (but won’t)-—wait,

Why doesn’t a pro-life lawyer file a suit in Federal court immediately to stop all organ harvesting until a case can be heard—based on this woman’s and others experiences—that the new medical definition of when they can start cutting is cruel and unusual punishment, or many other legal reasons to stop the procedures before an adequate amount of time goes by.

[Winged Hussar]

“Those donors are known not to be brain dead but are usually first in a coma and the doctor decides treatment is futile.”

And they wonder why more people don’t check off the organ donor consent on their driver’s licences.

[peeps36]

I just finished watching a show about a young women who came back to life after being clinically brain dead for over a month. Unfortunately there are many people who don't ever get another chance at life because their families usually pull the plug sooner than thirty days. I believe the brain is a complicated organ that still holds many secrets. Doctors shouldn't be so quick to give the family the option of pulling the plug.

[LibertyRocks]

I heard this on the news the other day - absolutely incredible as rigor mortis had supposedly set in.

The article raises some serious concerns especially regarding those in car accidents and such as they pointed out. I’m sure there’s not a doctor out there who would’ve considered it even a remote possibility that this woman would EVER wake up - and here she is, not only breathing, and heart beating, but alert, and SPEAKING!

The woman herself gives all the glory to God. In the interview I saw she said, “I must have some more to do here”.

[LibertyRocks]

Actually I saw the woman on a news broadcast. She was fully alert, totally conscious and was able to carry out an interview. I have no idea what condition her heart is in regarding walking, etc... but there was no indication during the interview that she was disabled, or anything like that...

[trumandogz]

My personal opinion, but under no circumstance sign an organ card.

My personal opinion, under no circumstances should those who refuse to sigh an Organ Donor Card be permitted to receive donated organs.

[LibertyRocks]

What bothers me when I read stories like this is that my mom got a Kidney from a young 18-year-old girl who was apparently in a motorcycle accident. The donation of her organs gave my mom an extra ten years of life, and saved numerous others as well...

I just hope to God that the young woman who died was really “dead” and not just considered “hopeless”... I mean I’m glad my Mom got the transplant, but man... Knowing these things makes it a lot harder for me to check that box as you said. I’d have no problem donating organs after I was done with them - seems some of these donors might not be nowadays... THAT is just scary!

[Tamar1973]

An attempt was made to lower her body temperature but her heart stopped three times causing doctors to estimate that her chance of survival was less than 10 per cent.

Based on this comment, I doubt that she truly ever went into rigor mortis. She was just really cold!

[Tamar1973]

My personal opinion, under no circumstances should those who refuse to sigh an Organ Donor Card be permitted to receive donated organs.

IMO, that's a dumb comment because if a person is sick enough to need any kind of organ transplant (except corneas), their organs aren't healthy enough to donate anyway.

[MeanWestTexan]

Fair solution.

[maine-iac7]

Wonder what kind of recovery and quality of life she can expect?

Did you watch the video -

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=zbaiC9N6bGU&feature=user

No sign of brain damage..."brain dead" is a new criteria that was latched upon as a way to get families to pull the plug so they could harvest the organs (BIG cash cow for hospitals) while the person is still alive - understand that - STILL ALIVE. That means the heart is still beating and the organs are still then viable.

The criteria for death used to be when the heart stops beating. But then the organs deterioate rapidly, making it harder to 'harvest' - how I hate that description.

=A Living Will will not protect from this. the will to have is a "WILL TO LIVE" =

http://www.nrlc.org/euthanasia/willtolive/index.html.

If they know they cannotk, under any circumstances, 'harvest' you - they may spend put that time and energy into saving your life.

You think they wouldn't be this callous? We are talking about a profession that has no qualms about killing full time babies in 'partial birth abortion' - harvesting organs is a cake walk compared to that.

Live links next post

[maine-iac7]

video

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=zbaiC9N6bGU&feature=user
Will to Live

http://www.nrlc.org/euthanasia/willtolive/index.html

[longtermmemmory]

may a time I have had to explain to my legal collegues that a living will CAN state “KEEP ME ALIVE”, and/or “I will fight to live”.

Too often living wills are confused with a suicide note.

[gracesdad]

“IMO, that’s a dumb comment because if a person is sick enough to need any kind of organ transplant (except corneas), their organs aren’t healthy enough to donate anyway.”

You might want to think a little more. People aren’t asked to sign donor cards when they’re sick. They’re asked — and agree or refuse — long before that.

And I would agree that anybody who won’t agree to donate should also agree not to receive a donation. If you fear that donating might make you a victim of the “culture of death,” accepting an organ would be no better.