The LA Times is reporting that the death of a disabled 8-year-old boy in 2013 is currently under investigation by Los Angeles police and the DA office. Back in 2013, Cole Hartman’s father found his son with his head submerged in their washing machine. Cole went into cardiac arrest, but paramedics were able to resuscitate him. […]
By now, most readers of this blog are probably familiar with the story of Jahi McMath, a 13-year-old girl who underwent surgery on December 9, 2013 at Oakland Children’s Hospital. During post-op recovery, she started bleeding. Eventually, she went into cardiac arrest. She was then put on a ventilator. Two days later doctors made a […]
There’s a potentially explosive lawsuit that’s gotten limited coverage so far. As near as I can tell, the first story on it was published in the New York Post on September 26 of this year. Here’s an excerpt from the news story in the Post: The New York Organ Donor Network pressured hospital staffers to […]
Today’s (April 6, 2012) edition of the Wall Street Journal features an op-ed by Diane Coleman and Stephen Drake of Not Dead Yet. It’s titled ‘Second Thoughts’ Grow on Assisted Suicide.” You can read the first two paragraphs below. At this time, full access to the article is available only to subscribers of the paper. […]
I love The Onion. I’m pretty sure that the writers aren’t taking a position on euthanasia here, but doing what satirists do best; they’ve taken a well-known, overused, emotionally manipulative and predictable script – and then twisted the context. I apologize for the lack of captioning, but I couldn’t pass this up. If there’s a […]
From USA Today – “When is someone brain dead? Experts revise guidelines“: Determining brain death is a complex process that requires dozens of tests to make sure doctors come to the correct conclusion. With that goal in mind, the American Academy of Neurology has issued new guidelines — an update of guidelines first written 15 […]
From the Peoria Journal Star: Public can weigh in on organ donation bill Excerpt: PEORIA —A public hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday in Springfield to receive comment on state Sen. Dale Risinger’s bill to establish a presumed consent policy for organ donation in Illinois. Sometimes called the opt-out policy, presumed consent has been […]
I’ve been intending to write something about the complicated relationship between statutes governing brain death and the actual protocols used to determine when someone is brain dead. That will have to wait for another time. Right now, it looks like the state of Virginia is poised to streamline the requirements for declaring a patient “brain […]
Once in awhile, something comes along that really surprises me. This is one of those times. The January issue of Nursing2009 not only has an article harshly critical of organ harvesting regulations and protocols, it has made the article available online. In Speaking up for organ donors (link to html version, with additional link to […]
