Larry Niven had that idea taken to the possible extremes in his Known Universe series, after organ transplant breakthrus made it possible to transplant anything without any chance of rejection. Scary results, and really it just won't fly because people generally don't like the idea of being considered little more than spare parts and that their bodies belong to the government rather to themselves, which would be what an opt-out program is. It'd consider your body property of the state and don't they already consider too much of what's ours theirs as it is?
Don't take me wrong, I am quite glad for the advancement of medicine and transplant surgery, and extremely glad for the great news for James, especially with how well he's doing so far, but the choice to donate belongs to the person and not the state.
----- Original Message -----
From: rick2tails
To: SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 1:26 PM
Subject: [SkunkworksAMA] Re: Now I know how Frankenstein's monster felt...
It certainly sounds like you went through a lot.But your prognosis is
very good.Isn`t wonderful what modern science can do? I think we
should have an opt out system of organ harvest.If youre dead you dont
need your kidneys etc. People should have as a default that they give
organs to those in need. Look what it did for our fave artist here!I
hope someday in the future to see you at a con and wish you a full
recovery Jim!
--- In SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com, "Take a wild, friggin guess"
<a_change_of_plans_at_...> wrote:
>
> Hey all-
>
> I returned home from Saint Louis last night, but was far too
> exhausted to do anything worthwhile. One thing I've noticed is that I
> have a real limited amount of energy, and it appears only a couple
> times a day, so I have to pace myself.
>
> I got the call on the 14th of November, and both my mom and I had to
> get our shit together and then she drove me up to St. Louis. I was
> prepped overnight, and had both surgeries performed over a 5-6 hour
> period. I think it was around 6am or so. In any case, the docs
> replaced my pancreas with a functioning one, and put in one good
> kidney.
>
> I was in ICU for awhile, then went through all the fun painful shit
> for the first week after surgery. All I can say is: catheters are not
> fun. I had more tubes and hoses in me than the six-million dollar man.
>
> I got released for a week, but a fever and nausea forced me to
> return. After getting tons of strong antibiotics, enough blood
> cultures and withdrawals to drain a horse, and almost no sleep for a
> week, it was discovered that one of the pills I was taking was causing
> the fever. (This is besides the little touch of pneumonia that I had).
>
> Currently, I'm on 18-20 pills a day, though those will decrease over
> time as my immune system is slowly rebuilt. The docs have all been
> very impressed with the results; all my various levels are within the
> normal range, including my blood sugars. It's mighty nice to not have
> diabetes anymore. Makes all the agony worth it.
>
> It may be a while before I can draw; some of the medications I'm on
> cause tremors in my hands, so it's a little tricky to do any kind of
> decent work. Luckily, those medications will be deleted from the
> roster in a few more weeks.
>
> I lucked out in the approval process. The docs voted me in
> unanimously, and my general health was far greater than the usual
> kidney/pancreas patient. No known allergies, no diseases or viruses.
> The donor turned out to be an excellent match, and the organs bonded
> without a hitch. My only regret is that an otherwise healthy young
> man of 18 years of age had to die of obviously unnatural causes. I am
> still awaiting a special thank-you form from the hospital which I can
> fill out and send to the donor's parents. It seems the hospital does
> not allow free-form letters, and I reckon that makes sense.
>
> Special thanks to the doctors and staff of SLUH, the donor and his
> parents for their selfless gift, the good wishes and thoughts of
> everybody on the group and elsewhere, to my mom for being a caregiver
> while I was recuperating, and to Des for taking all her vacation days,
> sick days and personal days to be with me and help out in any way she
> could. I know the road to complete recovery will be long and slow,
> but I'm certain it can be traveled without too much incident.
>
> In other news, I'm really chomping at the bit to get back to
> drawing, but I'll have to wait until everything smoothes out again.
> Also, I'm surprised I'm not itching like crazy, since they pretty much
> shaved me from my upper chest to my crotch, and even part of my upper
> thighs. I normally look like a friggin' carpet, as far as the hair
> department goes, but everything is growing back quietly. Thank
> goodness for that!
>
> I've got a lot of e-mails still, but I'll have to work on those when
> I can. Just sitting here typing this has tired me out. :( Oh yeah,
> I also lost about 24 pounds after the surgery, which was nearly all
> water. Since my OEM kidneys were barely functioning, I had a good
> build-up of extra fluid. Seems the transplant has taken care of that
> little issue. Sweet. Of course, now everyone thinks I'm scrawny
> again, since I'm only 146 pounds. Gotta bulk that back up once I get
> the okay to start lifting again!
>
> Okay, I gotta take a rest. Just wanted to say howdy and let
> everyone know I'm still kickin'. And thanks again everyone, for your
> prayers and good wishes. I'll be back online within the next couple
> days. Talk to you all soon, and have a good holiday season!
>
> --JMH, now with a 10-inch long scar along the underside. New and
> improved!
>
Received on Thu Dec 20 2007 - 10:26:47 CST