Denmark shocked by story of brain-dead donor’s recovery

http://www.nationalrighttolifenews.org ^

[marthemaria]

The world of organ donation in Denmark is in turmoil. A documentary was aired earlier this month which showed family members reacting in anguish to the news that their 19-year-old daughter was brain dead after a car accident, agreeing to donate her organs and allowing doctors to turn off her respirator. About 1.7 million viewers tuned in to the heart-rending drama.

But Carina Melchior did not die after her respirator was removed. She is now undergoing rehabilitation and may make a full recovery. About 500 people immediately removed their names from Denmark’s organ donor register.

Doctors at Aarhus University Hospital were embarrassed by the incident. “We are overjoyed that the young woman survived and that she is moving on after the accident,” Claus Thomsen, the hospital’s chief medical officer, said. “But we made a mistake underway and made the family believe that their daughter and sister would die.”

The hospital acknowledged that the question of organ donation should not have been raised as there were no unambiguous signs that brain death would occur. New guidelines have been introduced to ensure that relatives will only be approached about organ donation if no more treatment options are available. There was no risk of a false diagnosis of brain death, the hospital insisted.

But in more bad publicity for the hospital, a Danish tabloid profiled a man who had been falsely diagnosed as brain dead in 2002. He recovered quickly.

Aarhus University Hospital is investigating both cases, although it insists that the correct procedures were followed in the earlier case.

Carina’s family is now suing the hospital for damages. Her family’s lawyer claims that she keeps asking whether her doctors were trying to kill her. “Those bandits in white coats gave up too quickly because they wanted an organ donor,” Carina’s father

[marthemaria]

This story just makes me shiver.

[HomeAtLast]

Ah, but the correct procedures were followed. That’s all that really matters! /s

[Red Badger]

About 500 people immediately removed their names from Denmark’s organ donor register.

ONLY 500?????..............

[Dr. Sivana]

Whew! After reading the headline, I was afraid she was going to recover and find her corneas removed or something!

[dfwgator]

Buddy: Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad! I'm not in a coma any more!

Mrs. Dionosopolis: Thank God!

Mr. Dionosopolis: [ embarrassed ] Buddy..? Buddy..?

Buddy: [ raising finger ] Ohhhhh.. what are you doing? Were you pulling the plug on me!

Mr. Dionosopolis: [ trying to explain ] Buddy, the doctor told us you were a vegetable.

Doctor: I, for one, am baffled!

Buddy: But pulling the plug!

Mrs. Dionosopolis: Buddy, we were just doing what you told your father about "dying with dignity", you know? If you ever got hit in the head with a sledgehammer and had to be kept alive by machines? You remember!

Buddy: I never said anything like that, Mom.

Mr. Dionosopolis: Oh, yeahh.. you remember, don't you? It was that one day, remember? You weren't asking yourself, you were real strange.. I thought, "Gee, that's not like Buddy, wants to die like that.." But I figured, what the heck, okay! You said it, though! You said, it, you just forgot!

Buddy: [ laughing ] I probably forgot about it!

Mr. Dionosopolis: Well, buddy, do you fell good enough to go home?

Buddy: [ excited ] Yeah, that would be just great!

Mrs. Dionosopolis: Alright. I'll fix you a nice big lunch!

Mr. Dionosopolis: And we'll go hunting first thing next week, okay? [ turns to Doctor ] Thanks a lot, Doctor! Thanks for almost killing little Buddy!

[ family exits hospital room ]

Doctor: Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me!

[PapaBear3625]

This story will more than make you shiver: GOVERNOR CASEY'S TIMELY TRANSPLANT. I would not want to be in a hospital at the same time that a VIP needed my organs.

[marthemaria]

The worst thing is how the doctors pressured the family do say yes to donating her organs. They were told if they said no they had to turn off the respirator very soon and let her go in peace. That she already was gone and the doctors even said that for her sake he hoped that the girl would not survive.
And they did turn of the respirator and pulled away the feeding tube and fluids to wait for her to die. But thankfully she recovered.

[Sherman Logan]

I’m not dead yet.

[RavenLooneyToon]

Her first words were,”You’ve got to be kidney-ing me!”.

[molson209]

like Monty Python ,they came for his liver even though he was still using it

[The Sons of Liberty]

BTW, Is Joe Biden an organ donor?

[JoeFromSidney]

Do not ever agree to donate your (or a loved one's) organs. Except for corneas, which can be taken from a cadaver, all other organs (heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, etc.) must be taken from a living person. This means the're actually killing the "donor" by removing critical organs while the "donor" is still living. This "brain death" nonsense is simply an excuse to declare the the "donor" dead while his/her heart is still beating, lungs are still functioning, etc. The "lights out, nobody home" argument is a phony.

Whether a person in a coma can eventually recover is a separate question. But so long as the body is still functioning (heart, lungs, etc.), that person is alive, and removing a critical organ amounts to murder.

[GOP_Party_Animal]

I read the headline and the article - I have no idea if organs were actually removed or not. Lousy reporting.

[Blood of Tyrants]

And all the bureaucrats were satisfied that the paperwork was done.

[infowarrior]

And all the bureaucrats were satisfied that the paperwork was done.

In triplicate, all"i"s dotted, all "t"s crossed, signed, countersigned, and notarized...

the infowarrior

[TheSarce]

Ping...

[Darth Reardon]

If, after they had pulled the plug and the patient didn’t die, the doctors killed her to get the organs, people would be horrified. That is, however, 0’s position on abortion.

[kabumpo]

Not even corneas. Don’t open the door.

[heartwood]

At least a single kidney or partial liver can come from a living donor.

I do wonder how many people who oppose organ donation because it kills the donor would have the principles or the courage to refuse to accept an organ?

Could I? Maybe.

Could I refuse for my children, or ask them to stand up for principle and die?

[Boogieman]

“If, after they had pulled the plug and the patient didn’t die, the doctors killed her to get the organs, people would be horrified.”

No, I doubt that, because that is exactly what they do in every case of organ donation, and people don’t seem to be horrified so far.