Become an Organ Donor!!!

[MadamMillie]

bonjour mes amis. i've been super busy w/ the holidays and such, and doubtful that i will be able to party soon. anyways, i wanted to send along the following:

"Each day about 60 people receive an organ transplant, but another 15 people on the waiting list die because not enough organs are available."

it's so easy to do but can save lives. become an organ donor!!!

click here to print out a business-size card to fill out and keep in your wallet.

please do this!!

http://www.organdonor.gov/signup1.html

have wonderful xmases, new year's, hanukahs, etc etc. see y'all later!

[malanee]

I'm an organ donor! Although I sure feel sorry for anyone who gets these beat up ole things!

It's nice to see you MM!

[crank47]

Ok, story time.

Reminds me of my last year as a blissfully ignorant undergrad. My friend worked for the eye bank. He had been doing this since we were sophmores. He'd hang out, on call, his pager would go off and he'd disappear to go remove some eyes from the recently deceased. I always joked about going with him on one of the calls. So, he calls and is like, "Gotta get some eyes, want to go?" "Sure!" He picks me up and we go to the emergency room, where the body is hanging out. He tells them I'm a "trainee." Turns out its a local politician who had a heart attack while driving. This guy was a big boy, and I mean Fat with a capital F.

Now, I'd never seen a dead body before, my parents never took me to any funerals or anything (a bunch of my friends are doctors now so I've seen a few, the cadaver room at Georgetown Med School is another story for another time). The scene became pretty surreal for me. There were a couple of nurses and a doctor hanging out cracking jokes, since it was a local politician. The guy's arm was hanging off the side of the gurney and I remember tapping it with my foot a couple of times.

My friend (he's now a plastic surgeon, btw) starts in on the eyes.

There are 4 muscles that hold an eye in place: top, bottom and one on each side. So he reaches in and cuts each of these and goes behind the eye to snip the optic nerve. That is a sound I'll never forget. Very squishy, crunchy and snippy at the same time. After the eyes are removed, a bunch of goop is squeezed into the sockets to keep them from collapsing.

Now he needs a blood sample to go with the eyes. The emergency room didn't have one so he had to get it from the body. Busts out the mac daddy needle and tries to take a sample directly from the heart, but the guy is so fat, he can't find it. At that point, the doctor busts out laughing and making jokes about politicians not having a heart. Various other fluids are drawn out that don't look like blood, but eventually he gets something that looks close enough. I am definitely ready to go at this point.

He mentioned the full time guys get to do organs and there's the full monty where they take everything, including the bones.

We go to the eye bank place and he puts the donated eyes in the fridge and askes me if I want a Coke. I glance in the fridge and yes, just like in the movies, there's all these cans of coke and stuff sitting by the eyes. Seemed pretty funny at the time.

Sorry if this story bothered anyone. In a lot of ways, our bodies are just a collection of parts that can be reused by others who need them. Someone can now see because of those eyes.

I'm all for organ donation and am listed as one myself. I'm just glad I'll be dead when they get to work.

[vicman]

Really doesnt cost us anything, and benefits others.... In VA you can register when you get your drivers license.

[pgiddy]

Originally posted by crank47

Ok, story time.

Reminds me of my last year as a blissfully ignorant undergrad. My friend worked for the eye bank. He had been doing this since we were sophmores. He'd hang out, on call, his pager would go off and he'd disappear to go remove some eyes from the recently deceased. I always joked about going with him on one of the calls. So, he calls and is like, "Gotta get some eyes, want to go?" "Sure!" He picks me up and we go to the emergency room, where the body is hanging out. He tells them I'm a "trainee." Turns out its a local politician who had a heart attack while driving. This guy was a big boy, and I mean Fat with a capital F.

Now, I'd never seen a dead body before, my parents never took me to any funerals or anything (a bunch of my friends are doctors now so I've seen a few, the cadaver room at Georgetown Med School is another story for another time). The scene became pretty surreal for me. There were a couple of nurses and a doctor hanging out cracking jokes, since it was a local politician. The guy's arm was hanging off the side of the gurney and I remember tapping it with my foot a couple of times.

My friend (he's now a plastic surgeon, btw) starts in on the eyes.

There are 4 muscles that hold an eye in place: top, bottom and one on each side. So he reaches in and cuts each of these and goes behind the eye to snip the optic nerve. That is a sound I'll never forget. Very squishy, crunchy and snippy at the same time. After the eyes are removed, a bunch of goop is squeezed into the sockets to keep them from collapsing.

Now he needs a blood sample to go with the eyes. The emergency room didn't have one so he had to get it from the body. Busts out the mac daddy needle and tries to take a sample directly from the heart, but the guy is so fat, he can't find it. At that point, the doctor busts out laughing and making jokes about politicians not having a heart. Various other fluids are drawn out that don't look like blood, but eventually he gets something that looks close enough. I am definitely ready to go at this point.

He mentioned the full time guys get to do organs and there's the full monty where they take everything, including the bones.

We go to the eye bank place and he puts the donated eyes in the fridge and askes me if I want a Coke. I glance in the fridge and yes, just like in the movies, there's all these cans of coke and stuff sitting by the eyes. Seemed pretty funny at the time.

Sorry if this story bothered anyone. In a lot of ways, our bodies are just a collection of parts that can be reused by others who need them. Someone can now see because of those eyes.

I'm all for organ donation and am listed as one myself. I'm just glad I'll be dead when they get to work.

So Doc, can the person getting the translpant actually use that eye, I mean can they see out of it or is it just for looks? They can actually re-attach all the optic nerves and everything to make it functional?

[crank47]

I'm not a doctor, I just play one on the message boards. I know I've read about people using donated eyes, and like see out of them and everything, and I know they can be used for parts, like corneas and stuff. Any health professionals out there that can confirm?

[shadygroovedc]

Originally posted by crank47

I'm not a doctor, I just play one on the message boards. I know I've read about people using donated eyes, and like see out of them and everything, and I know they can be used for parts, like corneas and stuff. Any health professionals out there that can confirm?

I think if the nerve attachments are in tact then you can replace the eye. Kinda like hooking up a battery. If the terminals are good on the circuit board, then you can just plug the battery right in. But if it's damaged, then I don't think you can. So blind people wouldn't be able to receive an eye transplant and be able to see. But if a person who can see gets damage to just his eye and goes blind, I think an eye transplant will work.

This is all just guessing on my part. I like to bullshit and pretend I know what I'm talking about, so make sure you confirm this before you go to your doctor. But it sounds good.

[pgiddy]

Originally posted by shadygroovedc

This is all just guessing on my part. I like to bullshit and pretend I know what I'm talking about, so make sure you confirm this before you go to your doctor. But it sounds good.

I think this quote pretty much sums it up. Anyways I wasn't planning on poking my own eye out then trying to get a transplant. I was just curious as to if it is possible. I don't ever want to be