City to Deploy Ambulances to Save Organs

nytimes.com ^ | Dec. 1, 2010 | ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS

[Free ThinkerNY]

Some 911 calls in Manhattan will now bring out two ambulances, one hurrying to the scene and one lagging slightly behind.

The first one will try to save the patient’s life. The second one will try to save the patient’s kidneys, in case the first ambulance fails.

After months of grappling with the ethical and legal implications, New York City medical officials are beginning to test a system that they hope will one day greatly increase the number of organs collected for transplant.

For five months starting Wednesday, the city will deploy a specially trained team that will monitor 911 calls for people who may be in danger of dying, like those having a heart attack. If efforts to resuscitate the patient fail, the team will quickly move in and try to save the kidneys; normally, patients who die outside hospitals cannot be donors because if too much time passes after the heart stops beating, the organs are unusable.

City officials said the project would be the first of its kind in the United States, though similar operations have been carried out in Europe. They said that they believed they had solved any ethical problems by adopting what they called very conservative standards for who would qualify as a donor.

To overcome fears that patients would be allowed to die for the sake of their organs, officials said that doctors and paramedics trying to resuscitate a patient would not be told whether the preservation unit was waiting in the wings until a supervisor had given the order to stop rescue efforts. The organ team, which will travel in a bright red and white ambulance marked “Organ Preservation Unit,” is supposed to remain out of sight.

[goodwithagun]

What if I’m not a donor? Guess that doesn’t matter now.

[BenLurkin]

doctors and paramedics trying to resuscitate a patient would not be told whether the preservation unit was waiting in the wings until a supervisor had given the order to stop rescue efforts.

Not a problem -- they just won't try to save anyone who they think is borderline.

[goat granny]

don't call 911 or you will be an organ donor. Hopefully you have a neighbor that can drive you.....

[OldNavyVet]

Pardon me, but this reminds me of circling vultures.

[KarlInOhio]

It's the death panel truck.

[NonValueAdded]

“We’re here for your liver” looks like Monty called it right. /Python

[sheik yerbouty]

Deathcare of the 0bamanation has arrived!

[Seruzawa]

Another step on the road to Larry Niven’s “organlegger” society.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Lots of money to be made in human body parts... for government.

[a fool in paradise]

The first one will try to save the patient’s life. The second one will try to save the patient’s kidneys, in case the first ambulance fails. After months of grappling with the ethical and legal implications...

Budget shortfall? Not anymore...

[G Larry]

Soylent Green?

[a fool in paradise]

I cannot donate blood, my eyesight is horrible, etc.

Can I get a braclet that tells these graverobbers that I don’t have organs worth a dime on the open market?

[Cicero]

Not a good idea to agree to be an organ donor. It puts a big temptation in front of any doctor or hospital.

We may be getting to the point where it doesn’t matter if you agree or not. But in the meantime, why put that temptation in front of them?

Because “brain death” is a FICTION. You are not dead until your heart stops beating, your cells die, and you are really dead, and at that point it’s usually too late to harvest organs. So there will be a great temptation to anticipate.

[a fool in paradise]

I got hit by a car, and when I came to, I was laying in a bathtub packed with ice, and a note that said “seek immediate medical care, your kidneys have been removed”...

[gloryblaze]

I couldn't get to the story without registering. Surely, they are not butchering anyone without seeing a signed donor card. Surely ....... ??

[a fool in paradise]

They tried in the 1990s to make organ donation in Texas something you had to OPT OUT of on your driver’s license rather than opt into.

So much for the abortioninsts’ creed “keep your hands off MY body”.

[Alberta's Child]

I had an emergency room physician tell my parents years ago that they should never be organ donors — for this very reason. He never openly admitted anything in particular, but he made it pretty clear that harvesting organs from trauma patients was an important, lucrative part of his work at his hospital.

[G Larry]

I don’t have a donar card....”and quit calling me Shirley” (with respects to the late Leslie Neilson)

[seowulf]

Lots of money to be made in human body parts... for government.

Of course you're not allowed to sell your own organs.

I guess your body belongs to the government, not you.