To The Editor,
I am writing in response to the recent article in the “Hometown Living” section of your paper, “Friend to two kidney recipients, local man donates kidney, becomes donor advocate” by Jean Redstone.
I truly admire Jason Nothdurft for his self-sacrifice and selfless concern for another in donating his kidney to his friend. All can be inspired and strive to imitate his sacrifice. I also pray for Megan Lolly for full recovery and blessings of continued health throughout her life.
As a Registered Nurse, I wish to share some insights to enlighten others on the reality of “checking off the box on one’s driver’s license as an organ donor”:
Organ transplantation is a big business and generates much money for the medical industry. Unpaired vital organs, such as a whole liver or heart CANNOT be taken and harvested from a dead person. The person donating these unpaired vital organs must be alive! These organs need a continuous perfusion of blood to be acceptable for transplantation. Otherwise, THEY CANNOT BE USED FOR TRANSPLANTATION.
This continuous perfusion of blood can only happen if the donor has a heartbeat and blood pressure. Thus, the invention of the “brain death” diagnosis. The term “brain dead” has been formulated by the medical community to ensure a steady flow of fresh organs for transplantation from truly living donors under the guise of “brain death”. A person diagnosed with brain death is not truly dead. The process of extracting their organs for harvesting causes their true death.
There are documented cases of people that have been given a diagnosis of brain death, but continue to have a stable heart rate, blood pressure, respond to pain/stimuli, support the growth of an unborn baby and produce breast milk. THEY ARE NOT DEAD! These people may suffer from varying levels of brain damage, but they are certainly not dead!
In short, BEWARE OF BECOMING AN ORGAN DONOR on your driver’s license. It will cost you your life.
Emily Sparks, RN, A Concerned Neighbor from Woolwich
