Report BastaBugie editorial team

(AUTOMATIC READING)
The sad story of Rebecca Braglia, the young and unfortunate rugby player ended up in a coma following a tackle, declared brain dead and subjected to organ removal, it is an example of how the transplant machine works.
First of all, it has the task of using a nebulous technical language, unclear, in such a way as to make people think that it is a question that can only be assessed by professionals; secondly, information on the specific case is few and fragmented; third, the new criterion for determining death allows for “play” with the word death and to place it in a specific moment, albeit in a completely arbitrary manner.
In fact, we know that it is not possible to know the exact moment of death but only when it has already occurred, that is, when the unmistakable signs of death itself are evident (for example the penalty deaths).
It is known about Rebecca that the young woman fell into a coma following a gaming accident, that his clinical conditions immediately appeared very serious and were later judged irreversible, that the protocol for the observation of death was initiated in preparation for the fatal confirmation of death and finally that she was subjected to the procedure for the removal of organs.
It is interesting to note how the news of the rugby player's death was released by the media together with that of the start of the process of observing the death, which appears contradictory to say the least.
THE LAW OF SILENCE-ASSENT
Let's start by saying that in Italy the law of silent consent applies (n. 91 of the 31 March 1999), according to which anyone who does not expressly say no becomes a possible organ donor. Therefore silence is considered a “Yes” implicit.
Furthermore, it should be remembered that «the main limitation to the development of organ transplant activities is represented by the scarcity of the number of samples that are performed compared to the requests of patients who are awaiting transplant. The transplant must be considered the last moment of a healthcare process that is divided into different phases: identification of potential organ donor, verification of death, evaluation and maintenance of potential organ donor, collection of expressions of will, organ transplant procurement activities (…) The maintenance of the potential donor concerns the entire phase of ascertainment of brain death, regardless of any organ harvesting, and aims to complete the observation period for the formulation of a definitive diagnosis of brain death. In the donor patient, Furthermore, has the aim of maintaining adequate perfusion-oxygenation of the organs, such as to prevent or reduce, as much as possible, their functional deterioration up to the time of collection" (Procedures for diagnosis of brain death and organ donation, Health Directorate Central Hospital Centre, Lazio region).
In other words, once a possible donor has been identified, the transplant machine is immediately activated and the priority is the so-called maintenance of the potential donor in view of a possible transplant, independently, seems to understand, from ascertaining the patient's wishes.
THE UNRELIABLE CRITERION OF BRAIN DEATH
Without going into medical details, it also appears that some techniques used to maintain the potential donor are not at zero risk for the patient, even if the protocol dictates, at least on paper, that they do not conflict with the necessary care to be given to the patient himself.
What is certain is that the scarcity of the number of withdrawals compared to the demand for organs could tip the scales more towards the potential recipient rather than that of the potential donor, of which one cannot know “quality” of life that he will face even if he recovers from the coma. Effectively, «the diffusion and homogenization of procedures aimed at identifying potential organ and tissue donors, within the hospital network, aims to increase the number of brain death observations and samples in line with the standards set at national level" (Ibidem).
In any case, the transplant machine is based on the criterion of brain death or encephalic death, that is, a clinical condition of the patient that presents a complete and irreversible destruction of the brain as a whole, identified by the simultaneous absence of cerebral blood flow (EEG and other investigations), of brainstem reflex activity and spontaneous respiratory activity.
This parameter presents many critical issues, including the non-universality of the diagnostic criteria to establish it (variable from country to country), the numerous wrong diagnoses (many, compared to the fact that they rarely come to the surface, for obvious reasons) and above all the arbitrary procedure for ascertaining death which is based exclusively on the cessation of cerebral functions alone, therefore on the claim of being able to identify with certainty the exact moment of death, moreover through potentially fallacious diagnostic procedures.
After all, numerous and qualified recent scientific research has amply demonstrated that the word “irreversible” applied to disorders of consciousness it is no longer usable.
We cannot know if the young rugby player could have come out of the coma sooner or later. However, we know with certainty that Rebecca died following the removal of her organs and not before, as they want us to believe.