Would I have to quit my job based on the Church's moral teaching on organ donation?

[Lampo]

I have a sense the Church might look at organ donation more closely in the near future. If the Church were to decide that the process of declaring someone “brain dead” is not morally acceptable, therefore prohibiting organ donation, would I be obliged to resign? I don’t work for an organ procurement agency per se, but I work for a *tissue *procurement organization. We recover human tissue for transplant and research. When we recover tissue, the donor is not on any type of life support as an *organ *donor would be. However, our organization regularly has shared cases with the organ procurement agency. Thus, on shared cases, I would be recovering tissue from someone declared “brain dead.” Does this make sense?

 

[rwoehmke]

If I am not mistaken “brain dead” is dead and distinctly different than a coma or vegetive state. Terry Shiavo was not brain dead. Used to be when your heart stopped beating you were dead. Mine stopped and was restarted which would not have been possible if I were dead.Brain function or non-function is a lot better test for death. Much more reliable.

 

[Lampo]

If I am not mistaken “brain dead” is dead and distinctly different than a coma or vegetive state. Terry Shiavo was not brain dead. Used to be when your heart stopped beating you were dead. Mine stopped and was restarted which would not have been possible if I were dead.Brain function or non-function is a lot better test for death. Much more reliable.

There are two methods of determining brain death. One is a clinical exam and the other is a nuclear flow study. The latter is supposed to be the one that is definite and no chance of coming out of. However, there have been people to come back from being declared brain dead using both methods. I’m just saying that I have a sense the Church might reconsider its position when more is known about brain death. If this were to happen, given my situation, do you think I’d be morally obligated to resign?

 

[Daniel_Kane]

When and if the Church further defines the criteria for death and the transplantation of organs from heart beating donors, you would need to look at that definition, your company’s practices and the proximity of your job to the (supposed) evil at hand.

Brain death is getting a 2nd look as a criteria for death in heart beating donors (the work of Catholic medical professor Alan Shewmon is getting a lot of attention at the higher levels of moral theology and philosophy) so I would not hang my hat on the absolute statement that brain death is death. In his research he has a kid that lived 10 or 15 years after being declared brain dead and had no neurons or brain tissue at autopsy, just calcified scar. Yet, the child grew, healed wounds, fought off the common infections of life, digested and so on for well over a decade.

If Shewmon is correct, then brain death, even the total absence of any functioning tissue in the brain, may not constitute death although in the vast majority of the cases, such patients are really dead. It is a nuanced and not very uniformly described or tested for condition.

Remember that brain death was developed to facilitate the transplantation of organs in heart beating donors. The Church accepts it for now, based on the science of the era, but this is hardly a doctrinal statement.

 

[Lampo]

When and if the Church further defines the criteria for death and the transplantation of organs from heart beating donors, you would need to look at that definition, your company’s practices and the proximity of your job to the (supposed) evil at hand.

Brain death is getting a 2nd look as a criteria for death in heart beating donors (the work of Catholic medical professor Alan Shewmon is getting a lot of attention at the higher levels of moral theology and philosophy) so I would not hang my hat on the absolute statement that brain death is death. In his research he has a kid that lived 10 or 15 years after being declared brain dead and had no neurons or brain tissue at autopsy, just calcified scar. Yet, the child grew, healed wounds, fought off the common infections of life, digested and so on for well over a decade.

If Shewmon is correct, then brain death, even the total absence of any functioning tissue in the brain, may not constitute death although in the vast majority of the cases, such patients are really dead. It is a nuanced and not very uniformly described or tested for condition.

Remember that brain death was developed to facilitate the transplantation of organs in heart beating donors. The Church accepts it for now, based on the science of the era, but this is hardly a doctrinal statement.

My thinking exactly! My gut feeling is that I would need to look for another profession. See, we frequently recover tissue from a patient that was declared brain dead and donated their organs. We recover “after the fact” so to speak. When the organ team is done recovering, we recover the tissue. My job seems pretty close to the (supposed) evil.

 

[JimG]

It’s really your decision. You apparently really have no (name removed by moderator)ut whatever in declaring brain death or not. Further, you are only recovering tissues, the taking of which would not threaten the life of an alive donor. The patients from whom you are recovering the tissues have all agreed while alive to be organ donors.

The Church is not likely to ever make a definitive statement as to what constitutes brain death–it is not within her area of expertise.

 

[Lampo]

Another case: lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/may/08052709.html
I still sense the Church is going to re-examine her stance on organ donation.

 

[Harmony1988]

To me it sounds like you are rather uncomfortable with this practice that you are doing right now. Remember, even though the Church hasn’t formally said anything, if you feel uncomfortable working somewhere, you shouldn’t. Or alternatively, try to seek advice from other Catholics who perhaps work in the same field as you?

Do not give up your job just yet, reflect on it and pray about it and listen to the Church’s teaching on it, if it ever comes. If you still feel it’s not the field for you, then it’s your decision over it.

Perhaps talking to a priest about it may help?

God Bless