Mike Lester for June 06, 2013

Assume this regards the girl with CF. One of my son’s favorite elementary school teachers died of CF. He’d lived quite a number of years longer than the doctors ever expected, and died at 26. It’s a horrible (genetic) disease, and the news just seems to think you can pluck parts from anyone, and stick them into anyone else. Transplant surgery is assumed by the uninitiated to be a “routine” procedure.

My daughter’s father-in-law refused to listen to the doctors for decades and follow their advice. He destroyed his liver (not not alcohol, just a biological mess in many ways), and when he did get a transplant, there was only one hospital in the nation that would accept his case. He had quadruple bypass a year later.(Also because for years he let “Jesus be his doctor”, instead of medical professionals, until it was almost too late.)

Many folks awaiting transplants are very sad cases. One CF case was a girl who got heart and lung transplants, TWICE! She still, yes, sadly, still died.

This BS attempt to create “death panel mentality” to make another stab at alleged issues with “Obamacare”/“Romneycare”, is sicker than any patient out there.

Very tough call to make and I honestly don’t know what I’d decide if it was up to me whether this girl gets a lung transplant or not. I do know that I wouldn’t want a panel of politicians deciding.With the amount of people needing organs and the extremely limited supply, those recipients that have the best shot at living for many years should be first. I’m sorry, but if you are 92 you would have a tough time making it through the operation and if you did, there’s not many years left.From what I understand(not being an organ transplant dr), the survival rate for adolescents is also lower, but obviously the upside is decades of a healthy normal life for that young girl.One thing I do know, registering to be an organ donor is one of the most honorable things a person can do.

Here’s a good article about what they’re doing in Ca with the help of the late Steve Jobs:

http://donatelifecalifornia.org/stories-events/latest-news/

@ ConserveGov – Excellent comment, sir! It is always a pleasure to be able to agree with you and your compassion for this issue is obvious. Thank you!.^One aspect of transplant surgeries that has not been given attention during this specific story is the many people who come to the USA for surgeries and because they have money or influence, are able to get ‘bumped’ up in line to receive a transplant. A few years ago, a Saudi national got a transplant because they could pay cash, and Americans who had been waiting in line and waiting longer had to keep waiting.It’s bad enough we outsource jobs, are we going to now sell the health organs of those who died as tissue donors? I notice on my license I don’t have the option of stating, “do not transplant my organs to anyone from overseas unless there are NO American citizens who need them”.I guess I’ll be lucky if they don’t use my cadaver for one of those “bodies revealed” exhibits.Sadly,but Respectfully,C.

This must be what the insurance industry death panel looks like. You know, the one where your insurance company decides if your life saving procedure is cost effective.

Lester is just so wrong.

Alexander Kerensky, Will you still be repeating that mantra when Lenin orders your arrest and execution?

I have a more detailed monologue about this elsewhere today, so here I will abbreviate it: basing health care decisions on popular opinion is, without question, the dumbest approach there is. Remember Terry Schaivo.

To suggest that this administration is killing off caucasians in favor of minority votes is just stupid.

You might be surprised to find that the insurance industry lobbied to be able to be monopolistic.

And I doubt changing those rules would matter: Where I live, we have gas stations representing six major companies and a bunch of independents. And gas is within one or two cents per gallon from each and every vendor. Do you really think insurance companies would lower fees for a high-demand product just because other players are involved? No, it’s likely that the other players will keep the status quo. More choices, same choices.

“This is deregulation and it worked for the airlines, railroads, trucking companies, and bus companies.”

The most polite way to say this is: you are seriously mistaken. It has not worked for any of them. We are down to three airlines, thanks to deregulation, and all of them are facing bankruptcy, although fares are going through the roof.

We are down to one passenger rail company, and no more than two freight rail companies.

Trucking? Know any owner/operators? Nope. Hardly any such thing anymore, thanks to deregulation.

Bus companies? Sure, for private charter services, but for commercial travel there is just one company nationwide.

And all you have to do is look at what happened in September of 2008 to see how much good deregulation of the banking industry caused.

And I have never worked in any of those industries. I just pay attention to actions and their results.

The laws were in place before Sebelius.

Then you really haven’t been paying attention. Liberals here have been vociferous.

A death panel of one.