The World According to Nick
My take on Software, Technology, Politics, and anything else I feel like talking about.
Monday, August 16, 2004

Fuck the List 

Ad Campaign Gets Man a New Liver (emphasis added):

Cancer patient Todd Krampitz underwent a liver transplant late Thursday night, less than a week after gaining national attention with billboards that publicized his plight.

The operation brought joy to his family -- who vowed to continue raising awareness about the need for donor organs -- but remained controversial among liver surgeons and others who criticized the campaign for circumventing the national organ waiting list.
...
The donor materialized after stories about Todd Krampitz, who was unlikely to receive a liver before he died from cancer, appeared on CNN, Good Morning America and other programs.

There is actually a lot of controversy about this. The people who run the organ list are upset because this person circumvented "the system". They are afraid that more people who can afford to do this sort of thing will, and that more needy people who need organs won't get them. Yep, that could happen. Doctors are upset because this guy wasn't a "good candidate" for transplantation, and this liver could have gone to someone with a better chance of survival. I suppose that's true.

But if I'm the guy with cancer, and I just found out I probably won't get a liver before I die, I would only have three words for the doctors. Fuck the list. It's my life on the line, and I'm going to do whatever I can to survive. How dare the doctors tell me that I'm not worth a shot at survival. How dare the organ list people tell me that someone is more needy than I, when it's my life on the line.

It's all well and good to debate the "moral" and "ethical" implications of this particular event amongst yourselves. But is there anything you can do to stop it? Are you going to pass a law to prevent sick people from advertising for organs? Are you going to pass a law to prevent me from trying to save my own life? I wouldn't be surprised if someone tried. But in the end, you have the right to do whatever you can reasonably do to save your own life, and that's all there is to it.

I hope Krampitz does well with his new liver. If nothing else, we know he doesn't need a bigger set of balls.

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About Me



Name: Nick
Home: Wauwatosa, WI, United States

I'm a Software Consultant in the Milwaukee area. Among various geeky pursuits, I'm also an amateur triathlete, and enjoy rock climbing. I also like to think I'm a political pundit.


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