Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Can We Have Her Organs Now? But She's Not Dead!

Madeleine Gauron, a 76-year-old woman was hospitalized at the Hôpital Sainte Croix de Drummondville in Quebec, Canada for an inflammation of the gums. The ailment required a simple operation.  However, during Madeline's recovery, hospital staff made a deadly mistake. It was a matter of record that Madeline hadn't been able to take solid food for a long time. Nevertheless, she was fed solid food and then, to make matters even worse, she was left unattended. Madeline choked on the food and, after failed resuscitation efforts, she lapsed into a coma.

A terrible, unconscionable mistake? Of course. But one in which the hospital saw a silver lining.

I'll hand off to Rebecca Millette of LifeSiteNews to tell the rest of the story:

Medical staff contacted [Madeline's] family, explaining to them that their mother was “brain dead,” with no hope of recovery.  Citing Gauron’s eyes as particularly viable, the doctors asked if the family would agree to organ donation. While supporting the possibility of donation, her shocked family first demanded further medical tests to prove Gauron was really dead.

The next day, the family was astonished to learn that Gauron had awakened.  Shortly afterwards, she sat up in bed and ate yogurt. “If we had decided to donate her organs, they would have killed her,” said her son. “It makes no sense to treat people like that. Although she is 76 years old and is ill, she did not have to suffer all this,” insisted her daughter.

Madeleine Gauron is now able to eat, walk and talk, and immediately recognized her family. Her children have decided to take legal action against the hospital.

As anecdotes similar to Gauron’s continue to pile up, “brain death” as a legitimate diagnosis of actual death is increasingly being questioned by concerned family members and medical professionals, some of whom have charged that the “brain death” criteria was created simply to ensure that harvested organs are fresh...