mypersonalexperienceofableism

[mypersonalexperienceofableism]

The Truth About Organ Donation: The Moral And Ethical Ramifications of Heart-Transplantion

The film “Last Christmas” is a romantic-comedy/drama that tells the story a young heart-transplant recipient (Emilia Clarke) who was given a new lease on life by a handsome Christmas Spirit, (Henry Golding.) While the story is meant to charm and inspire, and as much as I love George Michael and the song the film is inspired by, (may he rest in peace), the truth about organ donation and organ harvesting is much less romantic.

Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding Star in The Film “Last Christmas” (2019)

As a heart-failure and congenital heart disease patient; I’m happy that stories like “Last Christmas” exist. I think they do a lot spread awareness about the reality of living with a heart-condition, as well as addressing some of the stigma surrounding chronic, terminal, and intermittent illnesses and disabilities; and I’m a proud proponent of chronic illness and disability represention, in general. Still, for all it’s charm... The message of “Last Christmas” and stories like it, (The anime series “Angel Beats!” comes to mind), artfully dodge the moral and ethical controversy surrounding heart-transplantion.

So-called “brain-dead” patients routinely wake-up before, and during, organ harvesting surgery.

What makes donating a heart different than donating, say, a kidney, or even a liver... Is that the heart doesn’t only have to be taken from a LIVING donor; but the act of harvesting the heart-muscle, (literally surgically removing someone’s still-beating heart out of their chest), kills the living patient/donor that it is taken from.

The titular protagonist from “Angel Beats!” Kanade, a stoic heart-transplant recipient stuck in Limbo.

While proponents of Organ Donation and Heart-Transplantion argue that hearts are only harvested from “brain-dead” donors; there are literally hundreds of stories in the news, and thousands of unreported cases; of so-called “brain-dead” patients waking up right before having their organs harvested, and making partial to full-recoveries. There is a even a belief within the medical and scientific community, (thanks to modern neuroimaging techniques and breakthroughs in the field of bioethics) that brain-death is an archaic and outdated diagnosis. In other words, there is no such thing as brain-death; only various levels of brain-injury and brain-atrophy.

Dr. Robert Truog is a retired Pediatrician, and American Bioethicist, at Harvard School of Medicine who questions the legitimacy of brain-death as a diagnosis.

While abuse towards those who are in comas, diagnosed with brain-death and brain-injuries, and those who are in a persistent vegetative state is nothing new. (And as horrific as cases of rape, physical and verbal abuse, sexual abuse, and other sadistic practices against these our most vulnerable of individuals; are...) There is literally nothing more abusive or sadistic than ripping someone’s still-beating heart from their chest, in order to give it to someone else. Harvesting organs from the brain-damaged or brain-injured (I.e the most vulnerable) and those who are comatose, is just another example of how society exploits, abuses, and dehumanizes the severely disabled; and is by its very nature, profoundly Ableist.

A coma patient at Hacienda Hospital gives birth after being sexually assaulted by one of the male staff members.

While the previous paragraph might paint a grim picture of both heart-transplant doctors and heart-transplant recipients; (as well as the system that allows these senseless murders to happen) the purpose of this article isn’t to demonize those involved with heart-transplantions; or to shame heart-transplant recipients... It is merely meant to spread awareness about the reality of organ-harvesting, and to educate those who very generously become organ-donors; about how “generous” their “gift of life” actually is.

Proponents of organ-donation suggest that so-called “brain-dead” patients have nothing to lose by donating vital organs.

As a proponent of the Rights of All People With Disabilities; as well as an anti-ableism, pro-life, activist... a moral and ethical individual, (and also as a heart-patient in need of a heart-transplant), I have to take the very firm stance; that as charming and lovely as films like “Last Christmas” are... for both the reasons stated, and many that have been left out for for the sake of brevity; I am decidedly against heart-transplantion.

- Ableism Exists 💖