Cheney's new heart....

[SoonerTexan]

Sorry, I disagree. At some point we have to be able to let go and accept death when the time comes.

I see accepting death and determining death for someone else due to resources as two different things.

[HouseofWool]

I see accepting death and determining death for someone else due to resources as two different things.

No matter who gets the heart, you are most likely determining someone's death. Either the elderly recipient who has already lived a long life or that of the younger person who in theory has the potential to live many more years. It sucks and is cruel to everyone involved, even the person who actually gets the donor organ.

[diggitydot]

Resources are finite, but that wasn't really my point. People freak out over death. It's a natural part of life and too many people waste valuable resources (time, energy, money) on "care" that only prolongs suffering and does nothing to change the patient's prognosis.

[Ladybug]

I was just going through the mail and the America College of Surgeons Insurance trust has extended their Group Traditional Term Life Insursance Plan coverage from age 75 to 100. I don't think pursuing medical care for a better quality of life at age 71 is freaking out about death. If the surgery is successful he will have improved heart function, greater energy and physical capacity and an overall improved quality of life.

The evaluation process and wait list should remain blind and scientific, and those parameters should be revisited as data and life expectancies change. If the process remains truly so, then no one *determines* anyones death. I would sleep at night without a wink of worry or what ifs. All we can do is create an unbiased, evidence-based system. The rest is out of our hands...as it should remain.

If he rejects this heart or succumbs to infections I would never consider it "wasted" either. Every transplant is a risk and a hope. You can't say how it would go for anyone, regardless of age.

[Ladybug]

I just calculated it out and you get 0.5% of your LIP if you die between 95 and 100.

[diggitydot]

I wasn't commenting directly about septuagenarian heart transplants. I don't give two shits if the dude received one or not. My only comments were about end of life care and how people frequently freak the hell out and over natural life progressions. In the process they waste time, money, and energy in futile care that does nothing to change the prognosis. Transplants drastically change patients' prognoses, so I obviously wasn't talking about that specific procedure.

[v-girl]

But this topic is about a transplant -- for a Republican. Would Democrats be saying the same if the transplant was done on a 71 year old Democrat? Just curious. Yes, I do believe the political party is coming into play here. I hope I'm wrong.

[diggitydot]

Most 70+ y/o patients with life-threatening heart conditions are looking at end-of-life care decisions, not transplants. Hence, my comments. No, my opinion wouldn't change depending on the potential transplant recipient's (or donor's) affiliations, political or otherwise.

[scrub-jay]

I suspect there is going to be controversy over any well-known figure receiving a transplant organ. Because there are a finite number of organs and the need always exceeds availability, someone else did not receive the organ that was granted to Cheney. I do not think it is relevant how long he waited, the decisions are far more complex than that and are based more on medical necessity and best statistical chance for a positive outcome than waiting period or age alone. There was quite a bit of controversy when Steve Jobs received his liver transplant in 2009. Not because of his age, but because of the resources he was able to employ to be granted the organ. He was able to enroll on multiple transplant lists simultaneously, which is not illegal but most people do not have the private jet/financial resources to travel to various sites immediately within the organ viability period. Do I think it is wrong that Cheney was granted a heart? Honestly, I don't feel like I have enough information to make that call. If it was because he was powerful, wealthy or Republican - then yes, those are the wrong reasons. However, I have faith in the institution that makes those life-and-death decisions and trust that the committee chose the candidate who was most likely to make the best use of the heart that was available. At least I truly hope so.

[Michele]

I thought something like this happened in the 90s and the person died or rejected the organ within weeks and there was some question that his money bought the organ.....am I remembering wrong? anyone else remember something like this? Maybe it was an episode of ER.

[houseelf]

Scrubjay wrote:

I suspect there is going to be controversy over any well-known figure receiving a transplant organ. Because there are a finite number of organs and the need always exceeds availability, someone else did not receive the organ that was granted to Cheney. I do not think it is relevant how long he waited, the decisions are far more complex than that and are based more on medical necessity and best statistical chance for a positive outcome than waiting period or age alone. There was quite a bit of controversy when Steve Jobs received his liver transplant in 2009. Not because of his age, but because of the resources he was able to employ to be granted the organ. He was able to enroll on multiple transplant lists simultaneously, which is not illegal but most people do not have the private jet/financial resources to travel to various sites immediately within the organ viability period. Do I think it is wrong that Cheney was granted a heart? Honestly, I don't feel like I have enough information to make that call. If it was because he was powerful, wealthy or Republican - then yes, those are the wrong reasons

ITA.

This is where I am far more jaded:

However, I have faith in the institution that makes those life-and-death decisions and trust that the committee chose the candidate who was most likely to make the best use of the heart that was available.

Call me a doubting Kelly, but I suspect celebrity and socioeconomic status and perhaps even political orientation might have rejiggered the list of eligible recipients. Successful celebrity transplants cause more people to think about donating organs. I have to believe the committee might have considered this aspect of granting the organ to Cheney in order to further the public health issue.

[scrub-jay]

This is where I am far more jaded: Call me a doubting Kelly, but I suspect celebrity and socioeconomic status and perhaps even political orientation might have rejiggered the list of eligible recipients. Successful celebrity transplants cause more people to think about donating organs. I have to believe the committee might have considered this aspect of granting the organ to Cheney in order to further the public health issue.

I know exactly how you feel. Were they actually blinded? I doubt it. Maybe I should've said that I hope...

[DCJenn]

My dad actually goes to Cheney's heart doctor (female) and from his (completely tree-hugging Liberal) mind she's above-board. My dad is the same age as Cheney so... where it gets dicey for me is the next person on the list- would it make a difference if the next person on the list was a 24 year old female? It shouldn't, in theory. But- does her potential for 50+ more years outweigh his likely 10-20? Yes. Does that make him any less deserving? No.

J