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Thread: Martha Perez (26) injured in car wreck was declared brain-dead, her organs were donated against her family's wishes

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    Moderator puzzld's Avatar
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    Martha Perez (26) injured in car wreck was declared brain-dead, her organs were donated against her family's wishes

    The organ donation process has been completed for the young woman whose family was fighting against it.

    According to family members of 26-year-old Martha Perez, her organs were removed on Friday against their wishes.

    Fox 4 spoke to the family before the removal and they said the third woman confirmed dead of injuries sustained in an Arlington wreck involving a suspected drunk driver was technically still alive.

    The Tarrant County medical examiner says Perez died Wednesday and doctors have declared Perez brain-dead, although the hospital declined to confirm that citing patient privacy.

    ?But she still has heart and lung functions,? said family member Juan Martinez. ?They took her off the life support and she was still breathing.?

    Perez was a registered organ donor and doctors told the family they were prepared to harvest the organs for donations.

    Perez did not have a will or an advance directive that would have instructed doctors exactly what to do in regards to taking her off of life support.

    According to Martinez, the family felt it was too soon.

    ?We don't want to be pressured. My family feels pressured and it's just hard for someone to make that kind of decision when this just happened,? Martinez said Friday before her organs were removed.

    Legal expert Jessice Dunne said the family has the legal right to keep Perez on life support if her organs are still functioning. If they stop, then it's up to the hospital what to do.

    ?We know we have to come to a decision but we aren't going to let no hospital or no state make that decision for us,? Martinez said. That wasn't the case as the hospital decided to move forward in the process.

    The family is currently seeking legal advice while mourning their loss.

    Twenty-six-year-old Alejandra Alvarado was pronounced dead at the scene of the Sunday wreck while 19-year-old Alexandra Rodriguez died about two hours later.

    Police have said a male passenger had non-life-threatening injuries.

    Police say witnesses told officers that 38-year-old Eldrick Westbrook of Arlington ran a red light before hitting the vehicle carrying the four people. He remained in Tarrant County jail Thursday on two counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault. Bail was set at $120,000. Jail records don't list an attorney.

    Police spokeswoman Tiara Richard says it's possible with Perez's death that the assault case would be upgraded.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.
    http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/273950...familys-wishes
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    I think we as a society might need to be better educated on the meaning of brain death.

    I'm not sure what happened here since this is a lot of he said/she said, but brain death is not reversible. It is sad that these folks died, but I don't see the harm in following Martha's wishes and donating her organs if brain death has been medically established.

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    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    Especially since there's an expiration on organs if things aren't done in a timely manner.

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    Senior Member becoming's Avatar
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    If it's true that she was still breathing and had a heartbeat off of life support, how is this legal? Surely that can't be true.

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    Quote Originally Posted by kevansvault View Post
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    Senior Member animosity's Avatar
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    i'm pretty sure that if they take you off of life support and you are still breathing, you are not brain-dead. that's like, one of the tests. i don't really trust the family in this case, but i'm just saying. if she was breathing on her own, she was not brain-dead.
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    Chin Checker g r ee n ey e s's Avatar
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    I was under the impression that if you declare yourself an organ donor that family does not have a right to make decisions regarding life support? Meaning, if you are diagnosed brain dead that you are medically dead but for harvesting the organs?

    It's unfortunate the family felt they had the option if that was the case.. or unfortunate that the 'in the event I die' conversation didn't happen with her family members.


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    It depends on what definition of brain dead they were using....some consider it the entire brain including the medulla (brain stem)...in which case there would be no spontaneous respiration. But if part of her brain stem was still functional, there may have been enough to keep her breathing and heart beating. If this was the case she may have breathed on her own for a bit, but eventually her systems would fail. I also read that a part of the heart kinda works on its own and when some patients are taken off support, their heart can beat for an hour afterwards, but I don't know about respiration. I pieced this together from Google, so I am no expert on this.

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    Moderator puzzld's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by g r ee n ey e s View Post
    I was under the impression that if you declare yourself an organ donor that family does not have a right to make decisions regarding life support? Meaning, if you are diagnosed brain dead that you are medically dead but for harvesting the organs?

    It's unfortunate the family felt they had the option if that was the case.. or unfortunate that the 'in the event I die' conversation didn't happen with her family members.
    I think it varies from state to state. I know here in South Dakota the family can override.
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    Senior Member *crickets*'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by animosity View Post
    i'm pretty sure that if they take you off of life support and you are still breathing, you are not brain-dead. that's like, one of the tests. i don't really trust the family in this case, but i'm just saying. if she was breathing on her own, she was not brain-dead.
    Yes. Apnea (lack of spontaneous breathing) is one of the criteria for brain death. Breathing = NOT BRAIN DEAD.

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    Senior Member snorlax's Avatar
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    Eh, Don't know if I can trust the family so much on this...
    If the hospital said she continued breathing, then I would wonder.
    But it's possible the family is stuck in denial and when they took her off life support she had a few muscle spasms, which isn't uncommon and thought she took a few breaths.

    Overall, I'm sure there are guidelines for donating organs and how quickly you have to harvest them once the donor has passed. I'm sure that also played a huge role.
    The family can't just sit around the dead body for a few hours grieving and then they harvest the organs.

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    WWJD?

    (what would jahi do?)

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    If the ME said she was dead Wednesday, the hospital was carrying out her wishes.

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    Senior Member animosity's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by White trash bitchy blonde View Post
    WWJD?

    (what would jahi do?)
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  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Sammygirl View Post
    If the ME said she was dead Wednesday, the hospital was carrying out her wishes.
    Right, like why would the hospital risk a lawsuit over a few organs?

    Also, I lol'd at the Jahi

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    What do you care? Boston Babe 73's Avatar
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    I commend her for making that selfless decision to save lives. I'm sorry the Family feels the way they do, but the decision is an individual one, not a group decision. As for brain death, of they pronounced her brain dead then there's no coming back. And if she did breathe on her own, she may not be brain dead, but is she really coming back? I know that I wouldn't want to live like that and perhaps she would have felt the same.

    I trust the Doctor's conclusion.
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