My Confession

[Jannie]

I have to confess something. Many years ago (1978) I saw a movie that really shook me up about organ donation. The movie was called "Coma", based on a book by Michael Crichton, who is/was trained as an MD.  In the movie, an evil doctor deliberately hurts or kills surgical patients so he can harvest their organs and use them to cure sick people and make himself a "hero".  I was so spooked by this bit of fiction, I decided then and there I would NEVER be an organ donor. I never even donated blood.  Then the shit hit the fan and my kidneys failed. I am on several cadaver donor organ lists. Believe me, I don't know why people refuse to check the donor box on their drivers licenses. If more people would do so, they could save so many lives. I am sorry for my ignorance.  I understand th
at someone studied the trends. And came to the conclusion that if there was an "opt-out" system for organs after death, there would be no waiting lists for organs. Think of it, if everyone's organs were available, people like us (on dialysis) would not have to face three-five-ten year waits for kidneys. Then again, no one wants the government to jump in and claim your body after you die.  I wish I could jump in a time machine and go back to 1978 and straighten myself out!


EDITED:  Moved post to proper thread "General Discussion" - Goofynina/Admin.

[Rerun]

Yes, that is a learning that you wish you could pass on to others.  Unfortunately, we can only continue to educate and not make any more stupid movies.  Coma did nothing for organ procurement!

All you can do now is pass this on to people who may feel the same way you "once" did.

[Chris]

I remember that movie as a kid, never fully watched it as a kid, nor when it was on HBO. Something scared me as a kid about it, but don't remember the organ harvest part.
Thus they maybe part of the cause to irogant think of people on donation. But thinking about that though, the movie characters most likely didn't sign a organ donor card and the doctor probably made up something in order for the patients to be considered dead. That is totally different than if someone signs an organ donor card in one respect. If these people are worried about being harvested for organs, are they the same ones who go to the hospital for care or surgery and nothing has happened to them. Aghhh now overthinking these stupid people over a movie.

[Stacy Without An E]

You think by now someone would have come up with a movie about a character that deals with Dialysis.  Sure, you occasionally see Dialysis patients on TV shows, but they're never accurate.  One Nip/Tuck came close a couple seasons ago where their nurse had to go on Dialysis and they showed the same machine I use in my Northern California clinic.

I also tried searching for a documentary that might follow a number of patients through the ordeal of Dialysis but again, no dice.

If anybody knows of either, please pass it along.

[Adam_W]

I remember seeing an episode of "Mystery ER" where a patient was poisoned and they used a hemodialysis machine to help filter out the poison. In the reenactment they rolled a full-sized Fresenius 2008E into the ICU, and when it showed the machine running, the blood pump was running backwards. On an episode of "House" that I saw, there was a very brief scene of a bratty teenage boy who was on a 2008K machine. I haven't seen any other TV shows/documentaries that show someone on dialysis.

Adam

[MooseMom]

Have you ever noticed that when you learn a new word, you suddenly begin seeing it everywhere?

When I learned how bad my kidney function had become because of FSGS, I suddenly began seeing FSGS and/or CKD and or stories about dialysis absolutely everywhere.  Alonso Mourning had a kidney transplant and then went back to his NBA career.  These types of stories became so prevalent (at least that's how it appeared) that even my husband began noticing it!

I think that as diabetes rages through our population, and as we grow older and become fatter and fatter, CKD, dialysis and organ donation will become hot topics.  Most people today don't remember "COMA" or have never heard of it.  I think that we as a community need to really step forward and educate people, much like those in the "autism community".  And there needs to be a federal initiative to educate people, just like there have been drives to educate people about drinking and driving.

[paddbear0000]

Coma is a great book! I didn't even realize it had a movie out. I'll have to check that out. The book is usually better tho.

[stauffenberg]

It would be quite difficult to pull off the trick performed by the surgeon in "Coma," since he would have to inflict just the right amount of damage on the patient not to kill him or her but still to produce brain death, all without anyone seeing the doctor doing this  or being able to trace how it was done.  Then he would also face the hurdle that medical ethics requires that the attending physicians of the donor patient and the transplant team are never the same people, which prevents any collusion between the two roles.