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Wednesday, October 06, 2004A western Colorado coroner said Monday that two hospitals allowed vital organs to be removed from a man before they had proven he was brain dead, and he declared the death a homicide. The cause of William Rardin's death was 'removal of his internal organs by an organ recovery team,' Montrose County Coroner Mark Young said. He said he did not believe the case should be a criminal matter, but that it 'should lead to a clarification of what the accepted standard is. I'm not sure how a coroner could make that determination in an autopsy, unless he relied on the hospital's medical records. Come to think of it, I'm not sure why a coroner would be involved in an organ donor case. They usually only step in when the cause of death is unknown. There are a lot of unanswered questions in this story. But, I have to agree with this sentiment: "I don't mind donating organs if I'm dead, but I want to be dead first." UPDATE: Here are some of the answers to the unanswered questions: Although he is the elected County Coroner, Mr. Young is not a medical doctor. He also conceded that he had no prior training or experience in the declaration of brain death. He indicated that he was learning about brain death through the internet commencing on or about September 28, 2004. The committee understands that Mr. Young had a conversation with a neurosurgeon regarding a 'hypothetical case.' That neurosurgeon was not directly involved in the case, nor did the neurosurgeon have the benefit of reviewing any of the medical records related to Mr. Rardin's case. posted by Sydney on 10/06/2004 08:50:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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