X-Message-Number: 7190
Date: Thu, 21 Nov 96 12:41:52
From: Steve Bridge <>
Subject: SCI.CRYONICS Cryonics and Organ Donation
To Cryonet
>From Steve Bridge, Alcor
November 21, 1996
In response to: Message #7183
From: "James Yegerlehner" <>
Subject: Organ donor = good idea for cryonicists?
Date: 20 Nov 96 10:09:31 GMT
Newsgroups: sci.cryonics
> I understand that brain-dead accident victims are often times kept
> on heart lung machines if they are organ donors, until the organs
> can be harvested. Would it be possible to sign the organ
> donorship card, but somehow stipulate that the organs could only be
> harvested after the suspension folks had arrived (assuming of
> course one were signed up for suspension) and were prepared to
> start the suspension? I'd be interested to hear comments regarding
> whether this is legal, feasible, practical, etc, as a strategy to
> minimize brain ischemia in the event of accidental death.
Ironically, one my articles for the 4th Quarter issue of Alcor's
*Cryonics* magazine (behind schedule again because of computer
equipment disasters, but nearly ready to go to print now) was an
answer to this very question. Since it is fairly short, I will
simply post it here.
CAN CRYONICISTS BE ORGAN DONORS?
By Steve Bridge
About once a week I am asked if a cryonicist, especially one who
has chosen neurosuspension, can also donate organs for transplant.
The answer is a qualified "No." There are several barriers, any one
of which makes post-mortem organ donation impossible for cryonics
patients.
1. Alcor's ability to provide reasonable preservation for a
member's brain is strongly dependent on how fast our transport team
can begin cooling the member and adding protective chemicals. Forcing
Alcor to wait several hours while surgeons remove a heart and kidneys is
not good for your brain. We assume you are involved in cryonics at all
because you want your brain treated with utmost care.
2. All states require evidence of "brain death" before a
hospital can remove organs from a donor. "Brain death" typically
means that the brain has had no circulation for 24 hours (*not* at
all good for your brain) or has been obviously destroyed by injury.
You don't want to wait for brain death before we freeze you. Your
brain is you.
3. Even if you have chosen the neurosuspension option, Alcor's
surgical team needs an intact vascular system, including the heart,
to get cryoprotectants to the cells of your brain. Removing organs
puts holes in that system.
4. From the hospital's point of view, they don't want organs
that have had Alcor's solutions pumped through them, even though
these solutions may be very protective. It would require hundreds of
millions of dollars for research to prove that our particular
combination of chemicals was safe and effective for transplants.
It's not worth that.
[I'll add one more comment here that was not in the article but
fits Jim's specific question. You *do not* want to sign the card
that says you are an "organ donor." Once you place yourself in that
pigeonhole, it is very hard to make it clear to hospital personnel
that, no, that "wasn't exactly what you meant." And you probably
won't even be in a condition to explain it yourself, remember.
"Organ donor" may well lose you some parts and damage your brain
before your cryonics company is even informed. After that, a
hospital response of, "Oops, we misunderstood," isn't terribly
useful.
It is is much better to inform your personal physicians and
other hospital staff that you are a "whole body anatomical donor."
That places you in the "medical school donor" pigeonhole and provides
for much greater cooperation.]
Donations you CAN make
Many prospective cryonicists wish to contribute something to the
health of others and feel uneasy about not donating organs. You can
still help save many lives without causing problems for your
suspension. You can donate while you are *alive*. I don't mean just
giving a kidney to a relative, either, although that might very
rarely be possible. There is at least one organ donation nearly all
of us can make -- *blood*.
Donating blood is simple, can help save many lives, and can even
be healthy for you. Yes, recent research appears to show that men
who donate blood at least three times per year increase their average
life-span to that of women. The most plausible theory for this is
that iron accumulation in the blood is a primary cause of
cardiovascular disease, and women have their own natural method of
discarding iron -- every month when they menstruate.
I hope none of our readers believe the idiotic, backwards
folklore that donating blood can place you at risk for getting AIDS.
Many people in the 1980's got AIDS from *receiving* blood
transfusions; no one gets AIDS from giving blood. (Detailed testing
of blood today makes it extremely unlikely for a person to be
infected with AIDS even by receiving a transfusion.)
If you are in a serious accident, you certainly want other
people in the community to have donated blood to save your life. It
is only fair to put your share into the community pool to save other
people's lives. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Blood Banks."
When you donate your blood, you could also add yourself to the
list for *bone marrow donation*. Thousands of people per year,
especially with certain forms of leukemia, could have their lives
saved by a donation of bone marrow from a tissue-compatible
individual.
Finding the level of compatibility required (near 100% for
certain antigens) can be like searching for the proverbial needle in
a haystack. Right now several million people have their antigen
signatures listed in the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) data
base; but every year many people die without finding a match.
Antigen matching is especially difficult in the United States, with
the nearly infinite mix of racial and cultural backgrounds of our
residents. Adding your name to the NMDP Register could save a life.
Making this effort as widespread as possible could also give *you* a
chance at more life someday, should you be the one who gets the
leukemia.
To find out more about bone marrow donation, visit your local
blood bank or call the NMDA at 1-800-627-7692.
Cryonics is a way of saving your own life. It is selfish -- and
I mean that in a good way. Understanding your own self interest is
essential for survival. Being selfish does not also mean that you
can or should abandon your family and community. Doing good for each
other makes all of our lives better and contributes to our own
individual survival.
Stephen Bridge, President ()
Alcor Life Extension Foundation
Non-profit cryonic suspension services since 1972.
7895 E. Acoma Dr., Suite 110, Scottsdale AZ 85260-6916
Phone (602) 922-9013 (800) 367-2228 FAX (602) 922-9027
for general requests
http://www.alcor.org
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