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… The truth behind organ donation & organ transplants

WAS
NOT
DEAD

Carina Melchior , a 19 year old student, suffered severe injuries after crashing her car. Doctors said she would soon be “brain dead” and convinced her family to consent to organ donation. But, as doctors gathered around her bed to prep her for organ donation, she suddenly opened her eyes and moved her legs. Now she is making a full recovery. [more]

WAS
NOT
DEAD

Steven Thorpe , 17 year old Warwickshire youth, was declared “brain dead” by four doctors, but his parents did not give up on him, and insisted on another opinion from an independent GP and a neurosurgeon. Steven made an unexpected recovery and left hospital alive seven weeks later. [more]

WAS
NOT
DEAD

Zach Dunlap , a 21 year old Oklahoma man, was “feeling pretty good” four months after he was diagnosed as “brain dead”. Ironically, Zach heard the doctors pronounce him dead, but was unable to do anything about it. A few days later, he revived and spoke to his family. [more]

WAS
NOT
DEAD

Sam Schmid , a 21 year old Arizona college student, was critically wounded in a five-car accident. Surgeons thought he had no hope of recovery and broached organ donation with his family. Sam was poised to ‘donate’ his vital organs, when he suddenly emerged from a coma. He has since had rehabilitation and walks with the aid of a walker. [more]

WAS
NOT
DEAD

Val Thomas , 59 year old West Virginia woman, came back to life, after being clinically “brain dead” for 17 hours. Attempts to revive her after a heart attack had failed, and doctors diagnosed her as “brain dead”. Later “she moved her arm, coughed and asked for her son.” ... she was alive. [more]

WAS
NOT
DEAD

Gloria Cruz , 56 year old Northern Territory woman, was declared “brain dead” and expected to ‘die’ within 48 hours. A doctor, a social worker and a ‘patient advocate’ urged her husband to remove the ventilator and let her ‘die’. But he refused and 3 days later, Gloria revived, awoke from her coma and was getting around hospital in a wheelchair. [more]

WAS
NOT
DEAD

Madeleine Gauron , a 76 year old Quebec woman, was diagnosed by medical staff as “brain dead”, with no hope of recovery. Doctors asked if the family would agree to organ donation, but the family asked for more medical tests. The next day, astonishingly, she awakened and sat up in bed and ate yogurt. [more]

WAS
NOT
DEAD

Rae Kupferschmidt , 65 year old Minnesota woman, suffered a massive cerebral haemorrhage and doctors diagnosed her as “brain dead”. She was taken home to die and her family began making funeral arrangements. When Rae spontaneously sucked an ice cube offered by her daughter, she was found to be alive. She later walked. [more]

WAS
NOT
DEAD

Suzanne Chin suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed into unconsciousness. Taken to hospital, she remained in a coma and the head of ICU, two neurologists & a cardiologist said she was brain-dead with no hope of recovery. But her husband refused to turn of her life support. 3 days later, Suzanne revived & is now well & very much ALIVE. [more]

The Nasty Side of Organ Transplanting

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Was Not Dead!

Colleen Burns

New York Hospital Suppresses News Of “Brain Death” Survivor: Fined USD $6000

A hospital in Syracuse, New York, has suppressed for four years the story of a woman’s revival from so-called “brain death”. Colleen S. Burns, 41, of North Syracuse was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse in October 2009 following a suspected drug overdose.

Burns had slipped into a deep coma and doctors were only too eager to declare her “brain dead”. Hospital staff convinced the family to give permission to take her off life support and harvest her organs.

Yet, according to hospital records, one day before Burns’ organs were to be removed, a nurse noticed the patient’s toes curled from the simple reflex test of running a finger along her foot.

St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse. (Image courtesy of St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center) According to New York Daily News:

Then, just before surgery on Oct. 20, 2009, Burns’ nostrils were seen flared as though she was breathing independent of her respirator. Her lips and tongue were seen moving as well. Despite these signs, a nurse injected Burns with a sedative called Ativan just 20 minutes later, according to hospital records.…
(New York Daily News article by Nina Golgowski, viewed JULY 10, 2013 at:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/woman-wakes-organs-harvested-article-1.1393821 )

Yet "the doctor’s notes show neither acknowledgement of Burns’ movements nor the administration of Ativan", says the New York Daily News.

Fortunately, just as surgery was about to begin, Colleen Burns opened her eyes and gazed up at the bright lights hanging over her in the operating theatre. This is what saved her life. If she had not awakened in time, Burns would have become another victim of the organ harvesters... written off as “brain dead” and then dissected alive for her vital organs and other bodily tissues. Removal of her vital organs would have caused true death.

Two weeks later, Burns was discharged from hospital. Sadly, she passed away in January 2011 from another drug overdose.

St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center and the doctors and other medical staff involved in this incident managed to keep the story suppressed until now. The Health Department has found that hospital officials did not thoroughly investigate Burns’ near-death at their own hands, and did not “identify the inadequate physician evaluations of (Burns) that occurred when nursing staff questioned possible signs of improving neurological function."

The Health Department cited insufficient brain scans, insufficient testing to determine if their patient was drug-free, failing to administer treatment that prevents a drug taken by a patient from being absorbed by the stomach and intestine, and ignoring a nurse’s claims that Burns was not dead but improving. St. Joseph’s was fined a mere USD $6000 for this gross incompetence and malpractice.

No wonder the medical system is so biased in favour of declaring “brain death” and organ harvesting from living breathing, heart-beating brain injury patients.

More Articles About “Brain Dead” Patients Reviving

(From “Syracuse hospital patient awakens just before organs were to be harvested.” By Nina Golgowski, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. Viewed July 10, 2013 at http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/woman-wakes-organs-harvested-article-1.1393821 )

(plus “Woman opened her eyes as doctors who thought she was brain dead began to take out her organs for donation.” By ASHLEY COLLMAN, MailOnline. Viewed July 10, 2013 at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2358597/Woman-opened-eyes-doctors-New-York-hospital-began-organs-donation-believing-brain-dead.html )

(plus “St. Joe’s “dead” patient awoke as docs prepared to remove organs” By By John O’Brien and James T. Mulder, syracuse.com. Viewed July 10, 2013 at http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/07/st_joes_fined_over_dead_patien.html )

Other article links:
Hong Kong lawyer declared “brain dead” recovers spontaneously three days later.
“Brain dead” Northern Territory woman recovers after husband refuses to withdraw life support.
Oklahoma man was “feeling pretty good” four months after he was diagnosed as “brain dead”.