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Thread: Elijah Smith (21) wins right to donate his organs

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    Moderator puzzld's Avatar
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    Elijah Smith (21) wins right to donate his organs

    A 21-year-old Columbus man who had been declared legally dead but was on artificial life support had his organs harvested under court order yesterday over his family?s objections.

    The case marked the first time that Lifeline of Ohio has gone to court over a donation, an executive with the organ-procurement agency said yesterday.

    Elijah Smith said he wanted to be an organ and tissue donor when he applied for a driver?s license in September. But his family didn?t find that out until he was declared brain dead by doctors on July 4 after being struck in a hit-skip crash while riding his bicycle the day before.

    After officials at Grant Medical Center notified Lifeline of Ohio of Smith?s wishes, Pamela and Rodney Smith said they didn?t want their son?s organs harvested. On Sunday, Pamela Smith, of the East Side, wrote to Grant and to Lifeline to say that the family did not consent to harvesting his organs because Elijah did not fully understand the choice he had made.

    ?We do not want our son to die like this,? she wrote. ?We do not want our son to be an organ donor.?

    Grant officials deferred to the family and told Lifeline that a court order would be needed to proceed with the organ harvest. On Wednesday, Lifeline filed a complaint in Franklin County Probate Court seeking the right to proceed.

    ?Under the circumstances, no one ? not even his family ? can undo what he did,? Lifeline?s attorney wrote in a motion.

    Ohio law bars anyone other than the donor from amending or revoking an organ donation, Dorrie Dils, Lifeline?s chief clinical executive, said yesterday.

    ?We are obligated and responsible for fulfilling that wish to be a donor,? she said.

    Common Pleas Judge Guy Reece, who agreed to hear the case in the absence of Probate Judge Robert Montgomery, agreed and signed the order on Wednesday afternoon.

    ?It?s not an easy decision, but ... Ohio law provides that this is the way the decision should have been made and that?s what I did,? Reece said. ?I followed the law.?

    Smith?s mother said yesterday that she was stunned and enraged that Lifeline had ?gone behind our backs ... to get my son?s organs.?

    ?The person who needed those organs more than anything was Elijah,? she said. ?And brain death was just a convenient way to facilitate the donation of those organs.?

    Pamela Smith said she saw signs of recovery in Elijah. But if he wasn?t going to wake up, she wanted his death to come after the respirator was turned off, not after his organs were harvested.

    ?We were hoping he would continue breathing,? she said. ?If he did not continue breathing, then that would be how we would finally accept the fact that he was dead.?

    If Elijah hadn?t been an organ donor, he wouldn?t have been on artificial support at all after being declared brain dead on July 4, Dils said. The respirators and other machines were there to keep his body working and keep his organs healthy for donation, not to prolong his life, she said.

    Smith was riding his bicycle from work to his home on E. 11th Avenue about 4 a.m. on July 3 when he was struck near Woodland and Woodward avenues on the North Side. He was a new father; his son, King, was born on June 22.

    Columbus police said they have recovered the Volkswagen that struck him but have not charged anyone.

    Families have objected to organ donations before, but Lifeline has not had to go to court to force a donation, Dils said. Representatives of the United Network for Organ Sharing and Donate Life America, both national organizations, said they had never heard of a case where a court order was used to recover organs from a donor.

    Dils said she was saddened by the case. Lifeline and other organ-donation agencies push for people not only to register but to talk to their families about their decision.

    ?Our second statement after encouraging people to donate is to always tell your family,? Dils said.

    Dils would not say how many organs were taken from Elijah, but she said lives were saved as a result of his donation. Nearly 120,000 people are on the national waiting list for organs, and 18 people a day die waiting for a transplant, she said.

    ?In the end, Elijah had the opportunity to save other lives. And I hope in time, his family will see him as the hero he is.?
    http://www.dispatch.com/content/stor...te-organs.html
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    Cousin Greg Angiebla's Avatar
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    ?The person who needed those organs more than anything was Elijah,? she said. ?And brain death was just a convenient way to facilitate the donation of those organs.?

    i cannot believe this lady actually said that shit.

    I'm glad Lifeline did this. People need those organs, and this dude wanted to donate his.

    ETA: very close to where I live there was a young father who was a physical therapist and a teacher that died waiting for a double lung transplant. He was only 32.
    Last edited by Angiebla; 12-22-2013 at 10:30 AM.

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    Senior Member animosity's Avatar
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    21 is way old enough to understand donation. i thought they were talking about a 16 year old at first. then i would understand it better.
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    What do you care? Boston Babe 73's Avatar
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    That Mom is completely selfish. I'm Happy her Son didn't take after her in that department. Good for you Elijah and Lifeline. There are people alive today because of you.
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    Senior Member kevansvault's Avatar
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    People are so obviously clueless about what happens to your organs after you die. You think they just stay where they are? Noooo. And maybe I get the whole "keep them whole" mindset but seriously...THEY'RE DEAD. News flash! He consented to having his organs donated and you're acting as if it's some jacked up conspiracy to get some body parts? Stupid. Maybe one day they'll grow up and accept what happened and that their son selflessly saved lives.
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    Senior Member Morbid_much's Avatar
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    If I'm reading the article right, the mom didn't want to give his organs because she was still hoping for a recovery. She felt that harvesting his organs meant killing him for sure and by turning of the respirator he would have a chance to start breathing on his own. She does sound a bit looney with the accusation that they are killing him for his organs but, she lost her son. I can understand that in her eyes he's still "here" because he's lying there and his chest is going up and down.

    I think this is a good thing. The mom has got to accept that he is gone and I doubt that would've happened soon without this. But I would give the woman a break. She lost her son. Save the hate for the people who will not donate because "omg that's so creepy" or whatever stupid reasons people come up with.
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    Moderator puzzld's Avatar
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    This is a fascinating (long) article about organ donation.http://www.npr.org/2012/03/19/148296...life-and-death
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    Senior Member u2addict's Avatar
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    Godspeed Elijah.

    Your unselfishness saved lives and that is what you wanted and in the end, that is all that matters.

    I cannot imagine what the parents are going through and I hope I am never in their shoes.


    I am an organ donor because I want to do all I can to help others in need, not just because I wanted to save a buck on drivers license.
    Last edited by u2addict; 12-22-2013 at 02:50 PM.

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