JBInvolved

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About a month ago I was working on a case when a coworker told me a story of an event that had happened in St Louis earlier that morning.

Before I proceed I need to start with a little bit of education. Brain death is the most common form of death that qualifies for organ donation. Once a patient has suffered from a severe brain injury and the prognosis is grim the hospital contacts an Organ Procurement Organization (OPO). This is who I work for. We then travel to the hospital to evaluate the patient and await for brain death to occur and declaration of death to be pronounced. Once death has been declared then our Family Support Specialists approach the family to ask for consent for organ donation.

The consent process changed in the fall of 2008. There are now 48 states that have passed the First Person Consent law. This is the only decision that an individual can make about their medical wishes that their family cannot override in a time of crisis. If I were to go to an attorney’s office Monday and fill out paperwork for a living will, I have wasted my money.

A living will is a description of the medical decisions you want made in the event that you can no longer make them yourself. You have been involved in an automobile accident and have suffered serious injuries, you are in the intensive care unit, on a breathing machine and the doctors are telling your family your injuries are non-survivable. Your spouse looks over your living will, decides they do not agree with the decisions you have made and make their own decisions for your care. Those decisions were made by you in the hopes that your family would not have to make any unwanted, hard and painful choices. In the midst of extreme trauma all logical thinking is out the window. Your living will does not matter if your legal next of kin or Durable Power of Attorney decides to change your wishes.

First Person Consent for organ donation is a different set of laws. I signed-up to be an organ donor on the Missouri Donor Registry and my decision has been made; no one can take that away from me. When the family support person speaks to your spouse, mom, dad, brother, sister etc… your family no longer has to decide if this is something you would have wanted. They can know beyond a shadow of a doubt this is what you wanted, there is no choice that has to be made and everything is going to be done to see that your wishes are followed.

Speaking with your family about the care of your body and the medical treatment you desire in the unfortunate event that you cannot speak for yourself is so important.

I guess story time will have to wait. A little bit of education turned into a lot and I still have more to go. To be continued…