organ donor fears possibly confirmed
I’ll just go ahead and say that I’m not an organ donor. I’ve always wanted to be. I just never went through the trouble of finding out how I can become an official organ donor. I want to be cremated when I die so I’m not particular about keeping my organs or keeping my body intact. My only fear about being an organ donor is related to the unconfirmed fear that doctors are less likely to try to revive you if you are close to death and are listed as an organ donor. It sounds silly. No doctor/surgeon would want a dead body on their watch. But it’s one of those sneaky ideas that creep into the back of your mind and you employ the “better safe than sorry” rule and act irrationally. It’s kind of like breaking a mirror when you aren’t superstitious but you still feel a tinge of apprehension. It’s amazing what cultural superstition can do to you.
Anyway, I’ve had this NYTimes news story bookmarked in my favorites for awhile now and am just now getting the chance to write about it. It’s giving me reason to hesitate to become an organ donor.
“In what transplant experts believe is the first such case in the country, prosecutors have charged the surgeon, Dr. Hootan C. Roozrokh, with prescribing excessive and improper doses of drugs, apparently in an attempt to hasten Mr. Navarro’s death to retrieve his organs sooner.”
“Ms. Navarro has filed a civil suit against Dr. Roozrokh, the donor network and other doctors in the operating room, and has settled a lawsuit against the hospital. A spokesman for the hospital, Ron Yukelson, said a plan to correct the problems had been accepted by federal health officials.
Ms. Navarro said she remained angry about the way her son’s life ended.
‘He didn’t deserve to be like that, to go that way,” she said. “He died without dignity and sympathy and without respect.’ “
Comments
Maybe you should read all the articles in the SLO Tribune to get the facts - and even there you won’t find anything. Don’t be reactionary - care about the truth! Remember innocent until proven guilty? Or is that just asking too much these days. Sheesh.
Canda / March 7th, 2008, 5:56 pm
What major, material, piece of information is missing from this New York Times article? Compare this article to articles from the LA Times and San Luis Obispo Tribune. Your post is well intended but additional fact checking and research is required. Taken by itself, this article is misleading due to serious omissions.
P.S. Your question/concerns regarding becoming an organ donor is well asked.
How to Play HMO HARDBALL / March 8th, 2008, 8:40 am
Thanks for the feedback and thank you for keeping me on my toes.
For the record, my post title does say “possibly confirmed.” Because we live in such a lawsuit-crazed society, I am well aware that someone being charged with something is radically different than being convicted of something.
All I’m saying is that if an urban myth of organ donation fears can hinder someone from signing up as a donor, the sheer possibility of a doctor having the access and ability to prescribe drugs to bring death sooner certainly hinder as well, if not more.
Dr. Roozrokh’s innocence or guilt doesn’t really matter when it comes to gauging my fears. The fact that his guilt is even possible makes me think twice.
But I do appreciate the fact that I should be careful not to smear his name around in this story without waiting to find the outcome. I’ll try to remember to update when the story becomes more clear.
becky / March 9th, 2008, 11:56 pm
What do you think?