Isn’t “brain death” a scam to transplant organs?

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[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (9 children)

Brain death does not usually mean they can still live with just a feeding tube.

It means, “when we stop the machines, the body dies”.

And yes, they keep the person alive up till they harvest organs.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (8 children)

They can’t harvest organs until someone is ontologically dead.

They are harvesting organs from people who are still alive by redefining the meaning of death.

[–]weavilsatemyface 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (7 children)

redefining the meaning of death.

What do you think the meaning of "death" is?

There's a story from the French revolution that people, after their head was cut off, could still blink for minutes afterwards. Chickens can run around with their head cut off. The amputated legs of dead toads will twitch if you apply electric current to their nerves, which means that even though the toad is dead and the leg literally disconnected from its brain and heart and lungs, the muscles are still alive enough to contract when zapped with electricity.

To quote The Princess Bride, "he's only mostly dead".

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

When you are dead the life processes in your body cease. Theologically speaking, death is when the soul leaves the body. Dead people cannot be revived, and in truth their organs shut down.

“Mostly dead” does not count. We’re all “mostly dead”. You’re gonna die someday, can we take your organs now?

[–]Vulptex 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

A brain is a VR helmet, if it's not working you're safe. But I don't think they're anywhere near careful enough, and sadly I think it's telling that heart rates go up so high.

[–]weavilsatemyface 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

When you are dead the life processes in your body cease.

Sure. Eventually. As you say, life processes plural. Different parts of the body die at different rates as the processes shut down and stop at different rates. The heart will keep beating so long as there is a machine keeping the lungs pumping.

Theologically speaking, death is when the soul leaves the body.

So animals, plants and bacteria are dead because they don't have souls? How about skin cells? Does every skin cell have a soul? Is that the same soul as your red blood cells and the cells of your liver? Or do they never die?

Let's keep this discussion about reality, not made up fiction.

You’re gonna die someday, can we take your organs now?

Depends. If you are somebody I care about, I might donate a kidney. If I'm brain dead, being kept artificially alive by a pump, with no brain activity and no hope of recovery, then sure. Waste not, want not.

Why would I want to take up a space on a respirator, waiting for infection to shut down my lungs and heart, just to keep a chunk of meat going, when there are people with genuine chance of recovery who could be saved?

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Yes animals and plants have souls, not spirits. Do you know the difference? With the soul gone the vital processes cease.

When someone dies, what part of the body gets lighter or heavier? They start decomposing because the soul has left the body or gets destroyed. A man who is just unconscious is not dead. Even though you can’t measure or control it you can rationally infer its existence.

[–]weavilsatemyface 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Do you know the difference?

Yeah, one is made-up fantasy bullshit, and the other is made-up fantasy bullshit but completely different.

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Souls are not magical things that live forever. A soul is the name given to the life principle of biological organisms. A soul’s effect is observable without an instrument.

[–]weavilsatemyface 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

the life principle of biological organisms

Meaningless mystical mumbo-jumbo.