Anyone see the Chris Henry story on the pre-game?

[bbb]

Yep, once cardiac death hits, the window is pretty much gone. Organs need to be perfused in order to remain viable, so with cardiac death that obviously stops. That's why I say there aren't really as many opportunities to harvest as people think. If they are lucky enough to harvest, and tissue death hasn't occurred, then you have a small window (when the organs are in the cooler) while on ice to get them to their new recipient, and hopefully get the blood flowing through them again. These teams are VERY well organized and move at the drop of a hat, and it's very interesting to see how the process works. I think it's good for people to be aware of these issues ahead of time, as you mentioned. Also, it's a WHOLE lot more than 4 people that can be helped by one single donor. I don't remember the number, but it's a lot of folks who can benefit.

 

Thanks for your great insights!

[ajzepp]

Thanks for your great insights!

[Russ 'Em]

Hey maybe you guys all wanna feel warm and fuzzy over the donation of Chris Henry's organs, and I give his mother all the credit in the world for making such a decision, but it doesn't change the fact that the NFL and the national media hold this man up to be something of a hero. What would have been the outcome, if his shellshocked wife killed herself, or god forbid, an innocent bystander as a result of Henry's irrational behavior? Would we be watching a video of her mom before a thanksgiving day game. I bet not. I did not know that even if you check the organ donor box on your license that you still need family consent, so I learned something new from this post, but he wasn't even a factor in the decision making process. Sure there are A holes in all walks of life, but we don't spend hundreds of thousands of dollars producing feel good spots about some spin on there story.

 

 

Signed,

The Prick

[ajzepp]

Hey maybe you guys all wanna feel warm and fuzzy over the donation of Chris Henry's organs, and I give his mother all the credit in the world for making such a decision, but it doesn't change the fact that the NFL and the national media hold this man up to be something of a hero. What would have been the outcome, if his shellshocked wife killed herself, or god forbid, an innocent bystander as a result of Henry's irrational behavior? Would we be watching a video of her mom before a thanksgiving day game. I bet not. I did not know that even if you check the organ donor box on your license that you still need family consent, so I learned something new from this post, but he wasn't even a factor in the decision making process. Sure there are A holes in all walks of life, but we don't spend hundreds of thousands of dollars producing feel good spots about some spin on there story.

 

 

Signed,

The Prick

 

I didn't really take it like Chris Henry himself was being viewed as some sort of hero. The story was more about his mom and the lives that were impacted through the decision she made to donate his organs to others. As for Chris Henry, you're right, the collateral damage could have been much worse. But the fact is, those theoretical events didn't happen, and the guy paid for his actions with his life. What exactly are you taking issue with here? That him mom misses her son and felt the need to show others who he was? I don't get it.

[DrDawkinstein]

aj, youve convinced me to become a donor. now i just need to reinforce that with my family.

[ajzepp]

aj, youve convinced me to become a donor. now i just need to reinforce that with my family.

 

That's awesome, man! And yep, the key is making sure your family is very clear on your wishes, cause it's SUPER hard for them if, God forbid, they are ever in that position.

[The Poojer]

Hey Russ, I shouldn't have called you a prick, that was wrong of me. you are entitled to your opinion of Chris Henry, and from my little knowledge of the guy, yeah, he was a bad person. But Chris Henry's character was not my intended focus of my post and thoughts.

 

The whole point of my post, and as AJZ...and others have confirmed, the fall-out from acts such as this, be they selfish to paint a rosier picture of someone, or truly altruistic, like most people, in pretty intense. I have never once considered organ donation, mainly because I cannot bring myself to think about my own mortality. But this story made me think about it, hell ,i only started donating blood less than 2 years ago, and I am absolutely hooked and committed to doing it as often as i can. I wish this story was about Jack Straw from Witchita, but it wasn't. It was about a person who had a checkered past, but thanks to his profession that gave him the vehicle to be in the publics eye. And thanks to his family for having the presence of mind to make a quick decision that I am not convinced I would be able to make. There are 4 families that have a whole new outlook on life because of the circumstances that surrounded this persons death....

 

Hey maybe you guys all wanna feel warm and fuzzy over the donation of Chris Henry's organs, and I give his mother all the credit in the world for making such a decision, but it doesn't change the fact that the NFL and the national media hold this man up to be something of a hero. What would have been the outcome, if his shellshocked wife killed herself, or god forbid, an innocent bystander as a result of Henry's irrational behavior? Would we be watching a video of her mom before a thanksgiving day game. I bet not. I did not know that even if you check the organ donor box on your license that you still need family consent, so I learned something new from this post, but he wasn't even a factor in the decision making process. Sure there are A holes in all walks of life, but we don't spend hundreds of thousands of dollars producing feel good spots about some spin on there story.

 

 

Signed,

The Prick

[The Poojer]

in the original discussion, i pointed out that most of us 'average joes & joannas' don't have the vehicle to get the word out as broad sword like as the 'celebrities' amongst us, but here you have 2 families in many of our's back yard, making the same impact on other people's lives......i really need to get my drivers license updated

 

more proof of the impact this decision makes....

[Just Jack]

in the original discussion, i pointed out that most of us 'average joes & joannas' don't have the vehicle to get the word out as broad sword like as the 'celebrities' amongst us, but here you have 2 families in many of our's back yard, making the same impact on other people's lives......i really need to get my drivers license updated

 

more proof of the impact this decision makes....

I saw that article this morning and was also thinking of posting it

[ExiledInIllinois]

The decision is always left up to family. Doesn't matter what your drivers license says...it has no bearing at all on whether they can harvest your organs. Next of kin has the final say.

 

Which is wrong. Any legal document that the deceased has signed should be binding. Now I agree if the deceased noted nothing about the organs, then leave it up to the next of kin.

Edited December 12, 2010 by ExiledInIllinois

[The Dean]

LOL - Yeah, my attitude is if you really want this stuff, you can have it. Good luck!

 

 

Same here. Take what you need and throw the rest in the trash. John Prine had the right idea:

 

[ajzepp]

Which is wrong. Any legal document that the deceased has signed should be binding. Now I agree if the deceased noted nothing about the organs, then leave it up to the next of kin.

 

A driver's license indicating that you wish to be an organ donor has no bearing at all on whether they harvest or not.

 

EDIT: Let me clarify that this may be the law in Georiga but not in your state. I have no idea. But where I live, a driver's license is worthless in terms of whether you end up donating your tissue and organs or not. I have no idea what the rules are in other states.

Edited December 13, 2010 by ajzepp

[ajzepp]

Okay, I just made a call to get some clarification here, cuase I want to make sure I'm up to date on how this all works.

 

The fact of that matter is that the ONLY way your driver's license is LEGALLY BINDING document with regard to organ donation is if your state has a first person registry and your driver's license is linked to said registry. Apparently in Georgia, some time in 2008 they created a first person registry where if you establish or renew your license after that date, and you indicate you want to be a donor, you are entered into the first person registry and this is legally binding unless you change it.

 

Here is the caveat, and this is why I said what I said earlier about making sure your family is on board: There has NEVER, EVER been a time when organs were harvested from a donor, even WITH a legally binding contract, where the family objected to the donation. Even though the organ bank COULD overrule the family and legally harvest the organs, they WON'T do this. There have been many occasions where there was a valid, consenting donor but because the family did not want it done, the organs were not harvested.

 

So, as I said above, if you want to be a donor, talk to your spouse, mother, kids, etc and make SURE they are on board with this.

[bbb]

Okay, I just made a call to get some clarification here, cuase I want to make sure I'm up to date on how this all works.

 

The fact of that matter is that the ONLY way your driver's license is LEGALLY BINDING document with regard to organ donation is if your state has a first person registry and your driver's license is linked to said registry. Apparently in Georgia, some time in 2008 they created a first person registry where if you establish or renew your license after that date, and you indicate you want to be a donor, you are entered into the first person registry and this is legally binding unless you change it.

 

Here is the caveat, and this is why I said what I said earlier about making sure your family is on board: There has NEVER, EVER been a time when organs were harvested from a donor, even WITH a legally binding contract, where the family objected to the donation. Even though the organ bank COULD overrule the family and legally harvest the organs, they WON'T do this. There have been many occasions where there was a valid, consenting donor but because the family did not want it done, the organs were not harvested.

 

So, as I said above, if you want to be a donor, talk to your spouse, mother, kids, etc and make SURE they are on board with this.

 

What kind of family would go against their loved ones wishes and not let that person give the gift of life. Ridiculous.

[ajzepp]

What kind of family would go against their loved ones wishes and not let that person give the gift of life. Ridiculous.

 

The idea of a loved one being parted out isn't very palatable sometimes.