A few new movies have appeared in theaters recently that can be added to what is becoming a growing cannon of films that tackle the many facets and complexities surrounding issues in bioethics. Tonight, I saw one of them. This inspired me to compose a list of recent films (plus a classic or two) that help us better understand the medical humanities and perhaps, ourselves.  These movies depict individuals answering the very personal questions of patient autonomy, “What do I want to happen to me, to my body for the sake of my health or medical care?”

1. Seven Pounds (2008). After a profound life experience, develops an extremely altruistic view towards organ donation, and actively sets out to assist individuals in need of organ donation. On one level, this film allows us to follow the lead character as he deals with his untreated situational depression, while it also chronicles his experience with living donation.
2. John Q (2002). The lead character of this film, devises an unconventional solution (similar to that of the lead in Seven Pounds) to obtain the organ needed for his ailing young son. In addition, to patient autonomy, this film deals with issues of distributive justice and access to care.
3. The Soloist (2009, now playing). Based on true-life events, this film is a thoughtful and realistic examination of how Ayers who is chronically ill defines quality of life for himself. It goes further to show the development of a friendship between the lead characters
   

   opens in June

   and how that friendship forces Lopez to accept Ayers on Ayers’ own terms. This was a very moving story of patient autonomy and mental illness.

4. My Sister’s Keeper (2009, opens June 26). An adolescent girl undermines her parents when she decides she’s old enough to determine exactly what she wants to happen to her own body. In addition to patient autonomy, this movie also deals with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis.
5. Steel Magnolias (1989). This classic ‘chick flick’ examines the relationship between a mother and her adult diabetic daughter. The candid depiction covers issues of patient autonomy, organ donation, withdrawal of treatment, and grief.

Definitely check out these movies, in addition to being entertained, you just might become a more sophisticated and informed patient in the future. At the very least, it will inspire you to give pause and consider how you define quality of life, what treatments you might want or what treatments you might refuse in preservation of that quality of life.

First Friday in First Person. At the age of 16, my brother made a simple but profound decision that all too soon came to affect a vast circle of people in ways they could not have imagined.  I will never forget his excitement as he reached into his wallet to pull out his brand new driver’s license.  He was so proud, taking the time to walk me through each element as if I’d never seen one before.  He was like that; charismatic, easy-going with an infectious sense of humor.  He pointed to the big heart indicating that he was an organ donor.  “You’re an organ donor?” I interrogated.  “Yeah…I’m not gonna need ‘em when I’m dead,” he replied in a matter-of-fact kind of manner.  Such a simple phrase to encompass a basic concept.  Yet the implications, the influence, the ultimate impact was in no way simple or basic.  Needless-to-say, I never forgot those words.  Little did I know, just five short years later, they would serve as the catalyst for my brother’s incredible legacy.

from www.donatelifenc.org

Trauma happens. Just before dawn, we reached the hospital where my brother had been admitted.  He was in an ICU hooked up to a ventilator with only a minister and nurse by his side.  It was so hard to see his muscular body lie there, nearly still, save the work of the breathing machine.  I could not understand why they had not operated.  Immediately, I began making demands; requesting the admitting physician from the ER.  Instead, they brought me the chief resident.  From him, I requested to read the admitting doctor’s notes.  I needed to know everything that happened until the moment we arrived.  Ultimately, as they realized I was someone with knowledge of teaching hospitals and its hierarchy, the attending physician on duty came with the films to explain the grave prognosis.  And there it was plainly.  My once vibrant, healthy, athletic brother lay dying with a bullet lodged in his brain.  It was put there, the Virginia courts would later rule, by someone incapable of understanding the consequences of his actions.

Acceptance and Farewell. In retrospect, I realize that he lay there brain dead waiting for us to arrive, so we could say goodbye.  The minister and hospice nurse, as we later discovered, were there to request and I suppose, if necessary, help to pursued us to donate my brother’s organs.  Little did they know, he had already done all the hard work for them.  Once they made the request, I immediately remembered the conversation.  I knew without a doubt, it was what he had wanted.  He had been an athlete all his life.  He was so healthy until…but trauma is like that…robbing the young and the healthy.  The hospital was good about giving us the time we needed.  We prayed.  We consulted other family members (about half of my extended family is in the medical profession).  I demanded charts and the attending physician.  We prayed some more, all the while the nurse and the minister never left our side.  We listened to the LifeNet consultant.  We gave the consent. We prayed still more.

April is National Donate Life Month.  So in this first person feature, I wanted to highlight my beloved younger brother.  He is the one who taught me the significance of organ donation.  The legacy he created through the lives he directly saved and the broader circle of lives he has transformed has surely helped me to cope with his tragic death.  And, it is the reason why organ and tissue donation is an issue for which I passionately advocate.

Have you made the decision to donate your organs?  Has someone you love donated or received an organ?  Leave a comment and share your story so that we might recognize these heroes during National Donate Life Month.

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National Donor Day. On Valentine’s Day, the holiday that celebrates love, there is no more loving a gesture than to make this the day you join thousands of Americans in making the decision to give the gift of life through organ and tissue donation. Did you know?

• Almost 95,000 people are in need of an organ transplant.
• Every 12 minutes another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list.
• An average of 18 people die each day from the lack of available organs for transplant.
• Approximately 35,000 children and adults in our country have life-threatening blood diseases that could be treated by a marrow/blood stem cell or cord blood transplant.
• Every two seconds someone in America needs blood (more than 39,000 units each day) according to the American Red Cross.

There are several steps you can take today to help alleviate some of this burden:

• Fill out an organ and tissue donor card, register with your State Donor Registry and make sure your family knows you want to be a donor.
• Join the National Registry of potential volunteer marrow and blood stem cell donors.
• Learn how you can donate your baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells at birth.
• Donate blood.

On this Valentine’s Day, choose to give the ultimate gift of love by giving the gift of life through organ and tissue donation.

Sources: OrganDonor.gov and Donate Life America website

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