April 6, 2014

Man, paralyzed by a stroke, hears doctors discussing harvesting his organs.

"I heard them tell my girlfriend and my relatives that there was no hope... I couldn't do anything. I could only see and hear. I couldn't move my body."
"They looked at an x-ray of my brain, and when they had done that, they told my girlfriend that it wasn't good and that I wouldn't live.... I could hear her crying the whole time, but I couldn't do anything.... I heard them talking about donation, they wanted to do some tests on my liver and my kidney, so they could give them to some people.... I was scared because I thought that I was going to die then, and a hard death... I remember I thought, what will happen if they cremate me, will I see the fire and feel the fire?"
Jimi Fritze, 43, lived to tell the tale because another doctor happened to look at the x-ray and see that he could recover.

But don't worry, this happened in Sweden.

29 comments:

Michael K said...

When I was a medical student, we were told of a "vigilant come" case like this. That was a girl who had carbon monoxide poisoning but she was two years in that coma before she recovered. I always warn students about talking near patients under anesthesia. Hearing is the last sense to be lost. I have had patients tell me about conversations in the operating room when they were asleep.

Sorun said...

I removed the organ donor designation on my drivers license because there's too much financial incentive for doctors and hospitals to take them.

traditionalguy said...

An interesting part of the new standards under nationalized medical cost cutting is Physician Assistants now use an almighty computer program to practice medicine on the victims...I mean the patients..

Sorun said...

Transplant costs.

Cha-ching!

David in Cal said...

Some years ago, I drove a friend to the hospital. She had been asked for permission to pull the plug on her husband's life support. He was suffering from an unknown infection that wasn't responding to any treatment. After much discussion with various doctors, they decided not to pull the plug. The patient did eventually recover and is now back to normal.

Bob Boyd said...

The worst part was when he realized they were talking about donating his organs to someone opposed to same sex marriage.

Wince said...

"With Organ Leroy, at his organ again."

Charlie Eklund said...

Life imitates Monty Python's live organ donor sketch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aclS1pGHp8o

rrsafety said...

The idea that doctors and hospitals kill people for their organs is ridiculous and stupid. Ask yourself this, if doctors were really killing people for their organs why is there such a shortage?

Unknown said...

A *more experienced doctor* looked at the x-rays when she came back from vacation. That's key. (Because young doctors are young.)



rrsafety said...

How does it financially benefit an ICU doctor to kill a patient so that a patient at another hospital gets a transplant? Gee, if you are going to wear a tinfoil hat, at least get your lame conspiracy story complete.
Also, the law should be if it's not on your license that you are a donor, then no transplant for you. Ever. Including no mastectomy reconstruction using donated skin, or eye surgeries using cornea, nor knee surgeries using donated tendon, etc.

ALP said...

I read a mystery novel that was based on a character that would choke his victims to the point they would go into a permanent coma-like state. Something to do with cutting off the blood to the brain - and stopping short of killing the victim. Left them aware - yet unable to move or speak.

Chilling - a fate worse than death.

n.n said...

This is a common concern when human life is devalued. People think that they are only vulnerable from conception to some time around birth, but when a society adopts a pro-choice morality, they remain commodities throughout their lives. A population control protocol does not discriminate between children and adults, unless an individual is capable of self-defense.

Sorun said...

The idea that doctors and hospitals kill people for their organs is ridiculous and stupid.

Doctors do all kinds of things, because they are individuals and there are a lot of them. Not one has to "kill you." Just get overly distracted with separating you from your organs, just like in the linked article.

"How does it financially benefit an ICU doctor to kill a patient so that a patient at another hospital gets a transplant?"

Is there a rule that organs have to go to another hospital? If so, I'm sure a reciprocity arrangement can be made.

"Also, the law should be if it's not on your license that you are a donor, then no transplant for you.

The organ itself should be free, or the charge to the recipient for it given to the donor's family.

test said...

rrsafety said...
Gee, if you are going to wear a tinfoil hat, at least get your lame conspiracy story complete.


Along the same lines I'd think someone asserting something is a conspiracy theory in the comments to an actual documented event would at least be required to posit a theory on how that reconsiles to the documented event.

paminwi said...

If your surgeon or anesthesia provider asks you if they can play music in the OR while you are having surgery say yes and tell them what kind of music you like. It helps reduce the possibility of the unfortunate experience of hearing conversations among the surgeon, anesthesia and nursing staff. Those conversations may be something specific about you or what some might say is inappropriate humor that does occur in the OR.

PB said...

There are lots of incentives in the world of medicine that reward doctors and hospitals for organs. They have to be removed fairly soon and they have harvesting teams for that. The tendency seems to err on the side of making sure you don't let organs go to waste.

Anonymous said...

Never sign those organs donation forms. But then Dear Leader would mandate that all organs be harvested to fund Sandra's free condoms.

Michael K said...

"Ask yourself this, if doctors were really killing people for their organs why is there such a shortage?"

There is actually now a large number of live donor liver transplants. The surgeons doing this have become fantastic at liver anatomy and can remove a segment from the donor and use it to replace the recipient's entire liver. Normal liver regenerates rapidly. It is the scarring that prevents cirrhotic livers from recovering function.

My students saw such a case two weeks ago.The wife donated a segment of her liver to her husband. This wasn't being done even ten years ago.

I sent a friend of mine with pancreas cancer to this surgeon last week. He has to be one of the best around.

The scarcity of cadaver donors has driven this fantastic progress in transplantation.

George M. Spencer said...

Anesthesia Awareness....awake during surgery.

It happens!

Ow! Ow! Ow!

Anesthesiologists today reported that "anesthesia awareness" -- being conscious during surgery -- affects less than 1% of U.S. patients given general anesthesia.

jr565 said...

A guy was in a body bag and woke up recently. Sometimes you wonder about the competency of these doctors.

Unknown said...

Remember this occurred in Sweden.

Humperdink said...

rrsafety said: "How does it financially benefit an ICU doctor to kill a patient so that a patient at another hospital gets a transplant? Gee, if you are going to wear a tinfoil hat, at least get your lame conspiracy story complete.
Also, the law should be if it's not on your license that you are a donor, then no transplant for you. Ever. Including no mastectomy reconstruction using donated skin, or eye surgeries using cornea, nor knee surgeries using donated tendon, etc."

I like your logic (sarc). Does this mean if mother is pro-choice we should not waste resources saving the baby she loves?

Or how about the automobile driver in critical condition who did not wear his seatbelt? I say forget him.

Why save a druggie who is in a potential OD situation? After all, he did it to himself.

Think of the money we could save not treating lung cancer patients who smoke/smoked?

Merciful? Forget chump, you're on your own. I like it. Unfortunately, so will people like "Dr." Zeke Emmanual.

Drago said...

Remember, here the science was "settled" until one of the experts noticed it wasn't.

Anonymous said...

I wonder who has enough empathy to curate the harvested organs?

grackle said...

But don't worry, this happened in Sweden.

Just in case the above wasn't irony … We should worry because we have created a health system similar to Sweden's(and most of Europe's,) with incentives built into our system for doctors to limit medical procedures to those approved by the Independent Payment Advisory Board in Obamacare.

http://tinyurl.com/2djql22

Chuck said...

There are no Tea Bagger Republicans in Sweden, whining about "death panels."

The Swedes might consider importing a few.

Sam L. said...

The Dutch woulda done him in.

Fandor said...

Ja. Sounds like an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.