Dr John B Shea, retired diagnostic radiologist & fellow of the Royal College of Canada, says: "A diagnosis of death by neurological criteria is theory, not scientific fact". He was talking about so-called "brain death", a medical concept invented in 1968 by Harvard Medical School to allow the retrieval of vital organs from still living patients.
Dr Paul A Byrne, neonatologist and pediatrician, says: "In order to be suitable for transplant, (heart, liver, lungs, kidneys and pancreas) need to be removed from the donor before respiration and circulation cease. Otherwise, these organs are not suitable, since damage to the organs occurs within a brief time after circulation of blood with oxygen stops."
Friends... there is growing evidence that "brain death" is a medical fallacy, which cannot be accurately diagnosed. There is a growing number of patients who were declared "brain-dead", only to later spontaneously revive and live. Here are some actual survivor cases:
Zach Dunlap, a 21 year old Oklahoma man, was "feeling pretty good" four months after he was diagnosed as "brain dead". Zach suffered severe brain injuries in a quad bike accident in Texas in 2007. He was declared "brain dead" and prepped for organ donation. But minutes before surgery commenced, he spontaneously revived when a concerned friend scratched his foot. Zach later told a TV show that he heard the doctors pronounce him dead, but was unable to do anything about it.
Steven Thorpe, 17 year old Warwickshire youth, was declared "brain dead" by four doctors in 2008, but his parents did not give up on him, and insisted on another opinion from an independent GP and a neurosurgeon. Steven made an unexpected recovery and left hospital alive seven weeks later. He had suffered severe head injuries during a major collision between a car in which he was travelling and a runaway horse.
Rae Kupferschmidt, 65 year old Minnesota woman, suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage in 2008 and doctors diagnosed her as "brain dead". She was taken home to die and her family began making funeral arrangements. When Rae spontaneously sucked an ice cube offered by her daughter, she was found to be alive. She later walked.
Gloria Cruz, 56 year old Northern Territory woman, was declared "brain dead" in 2011 and expected to 'die' within 48 hours. A doctor, a social worker and a 'patient advocate' urged her husband to remove the ventilator and let her 'die'. But he refused and 3 days later, Gloria revived, awoke from her coma and was getting around hospital in a wheelchair.
Clearly these survivor cases prove that "brain death" is a highly questionable concept that is putting lives at risk.