What You Don't Know About Organ Donation: "Are some patients still alive during organ removal surgery?"

When I sat down with Dr. Heidi Klessig, a retired anesthesiologist and author of The Brain Death Fallacy, I expected a thoughtful medical discussion. What I didn’t expect was to hear that the definition of brain death — the one used to declare people dead and remove their organs — may not mean what most of us think it does.

Dr. Klessig explained that brain death is not the same as total biological death. In many cases, these patients still have a heartbeat, warm skin and functioning organs. Yet, under current policies, they can be declared dead for the purpose of organ transplantation.

She also warned that proposed changes to these policies could make it even easier to declare brain death, which means organs could be removed sooner.

The transplant industry is big business, generating billions of dollars each year for hospitals, procurement organizations and surgeons. That money, Dr. Klessig says, creates an incentive to expand the criteria for death.

It should be of no surprise that the numbers of organ removal and transplantation are steadily increasing each year as the definition of “death” is broadening. Projected growth by 2030 is estimated to be in the range of 9.6 to 11.6 billion, according to an abstract published in 2020 by Science Direct, titled: Incidence of Brain Death in the U.S.

If you’re an organ donor, or thinking about becoming one, I urge you to read the fine print on what brain death really means. Put your wishes in an advance directive so your loved ones know exactly where you stand.

If you are not an organ donor, you need to take steps to clarify your wishes, as changes were made in 2006 to something called, The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA)—that specifically states that those that “DO NOT” want to donate need to take steps to “OPT OUT”—this basically means by default, we are all organ donors. Dr. Klessig has resources available on her website to help with this process, and it is an easy, cost-free solution to ensure your wishes should something happen.

This isn’t about discouraging generosity. It’s about making sure you — and your family — fully understand what you’ve agreed to. Because as Dr. Klessig told me during our interview, “Your life could depend on it.”

I encourage you to watch the interview with Dr. Klessig. I promise you will learn something you did not know about the organ donation industry and the horrific stories that take place in healthcare as this doctor shared with the audience.

[WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE]