S10.E19: Organ and Body Donation

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Main topic:  Organ and Body Donation

Also: Henry Kissinger's death; George Santos expelled from Congress; people on TV talk about AI the only way they know how

Original air date 2023.12.03

[Annber03]

I don't know what part of the main story tonight horrified me more - the bit about the people gathering in the hotel to observe that deceased elderly man, the story about the organ that got squished and had tire tracks on it, or the guy who got the heads sent to his desk and told "strange things happen" what the actual fuck?

The mention of the whole "black efficient" BS, and the fact that it's only just now that people are stating the blatantly obvious and going, "Hey, maybe we should get rid of that...", was also incredibly horrifying, but also, sadly, not at all surprising. Good lord. 

It's incredibly startling, finding out just how little regulation and oversight there is in regards to this stuff. You would think this would be one of the most obvious things to regulate the shit out of. The government will happily control our bodies to within an inch of their lives while we're alive, but once we're dead? Eh, who cares, the body parts can go wherever. Okay. 

Also, the guy who paid for the skull. Here's my question - why the hell would an average person want random people's bones? Even as "antiques". That's just weird. Are they really that desperate for some unusual conversation starters, or...?

The story about Cody's death, and the horror his mom had to go through in regards to what happened afterward...the thing that struck me the most about that story was that all of that could've easily been avoided if burying her son wasn't so pricey that she couldn't afford to do that very simple thing. That's her son. Why the hell does it need to cost so much for someone to bury their loved one? 

On a lighter note, I am glad to hear about the legislation being passed, or that is up for a vote, that will at least try and start to tackle some of these problems. And hopefully, with time, any loopholes or poorly worded sections can be fixed and tightened up as well, to further help limit the chances for this kind of stuff. And the story about Alyssa and the teddy bear with the heartbeat made me cry. I am registered as an organ donor, and my family is aware of that fact, If any part of me can prove helpful to others in some way after I'm gone, great. Certainly not like I'll need any of this stuff anymore, better to have it go to someone who needs and would benefit from it. 

As for the stuff with Santos, good riddance. I think his interview inadvertently did reveal the main reason why I think so many of his fellow Republicans were willing to expel him - he alluded to all the crimes they'd committed as well, and so they obviously wanted to get him out before he exposed them. But hey, now he's gone, not like he has anything to lose, so if he wants to expose their crimes as well, go for it. Might be the one good thing he could actually do. 

I have never seen Terminator. Heard of it, definitely, have a general idea of the concept, but never actually seen it. 

[iMonrey]

I got a kick out of John saying George Santos belonged in Andy Cohen's menagerie of broken people. 

I once worked with a woman whose aunt and uncle owned a funeral home. She said when you donate your body to science it gets thrown into a giant tank with a lot of other dead bodies. Really dissuaded me from ever donating my body.

[peeayebee]

19 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I don't know what part of the main story tonight horrified me more - the bit about the people gathering in the hotel to observe that deceased elderly man, the story about the organ that got squished and had tire tracks on it, or the guy who got the heads sent to his desk and told "strange things happen" what the actual fuck?

Reading your list, I first said, "Yeah, the autopsy in the hotel." And then, "No, wait, the squished organ," and then, "No no no, the three severed heads." Holy shit. 

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It's incredibly startling, finding out just how little regulation and oversight there is in regards to this stuff. You would think this would be one of the most obvious things to regulate the shit out of. The government will happily control our bodies to within an inch of their lives while we're alive, but once we're dead? Eh, who cares, the body parts can go wherever. Okay. 

Absolutely disgusting. Is there a Big Body Parts lobbying group opposing regulation, or is Congress just not that interested?=

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And the story about Alyssa and the teddy bear with the heartbeat made me cry. I am registered as an organ donor, and my family is aware of that fact, If any part of me can prove helpful to others in some way after I'm gone, great. Certainly not like I'll need any of this stuff anymore, better to have it go to someone who needs and would benefit from it.

I too was crying during that moving segment. As for organ donation, when I lived in CA, I was a donor, but I'm not sure if I signed up after I moved here to Colorado. I need to check. I have no problem giving all of my sub-par organs to people who can use them when I'm done with them. 

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I have never seen Terminator. Heard of it, definitely, have a general idea of the concept, but never actually seen it.

I remember back in the early 80's my future husband and his best friend were watching The Terminator on TV, and I was all, Hell no! I thought it would be too scary for me. I ended up watching it some years later and thought it was really good. The sequel, Terminator 2, is probably even better. 

 

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I once worked with a woman whose aunt and uncle owned a funeral home. She said when you donate your body to science it gets thrown into a giant tank with a lot of other dead bodies. 

What? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Around here, in CO, there's a big story about a funeral home that was discovered to have almost 200 decomposing bodies just stored in a shed or something. This was a funeral home that did "green" burials, but these bodies weren't refrigerated as they're supposed to be. Well, this isn't a body-donation story, but I thought I'd share for your pleasure. :)

Loved that commercial from Australia where the two Roman soldiers ask Jesus if he'll donate his organs. No way would this ad be made in the US. 

That clip from One Tree Hill... Of course I remember John showing that before, but I don't remember if I learned why that one guy looked so disapproving toward the one who lost the heart.

Oh, and when John started to say they had bought teeth from the website, I couldn't believe it! Whew! Of course they didn't.

Glad Santos is finally out. I don't think Republicans agreed to expel him because he "knew too much." I think they just accepted that they had to because of all the evidence against him. He's a terrible person. Ugh. And I read that he plans on writing a book. Please please please, nobody buy it.

Loved John saying that it took three times to expel Santos, like a reverse Beetlejuice. And then "No pun intended, no pun detected." 

[Annber03]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

What? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Around here, in CO, there's a big story about a funeral home that was discovered to have almost 200 decomposing bodies just stored in a shed or something. This was a funeral home that did "green" burials, but these bodies weren't refrigerated as they're supposed to be. Well, this isn't a body-donation story, but I thought I'd share for your pleasure. :)

...lovely. 

That actually reminds me of a segment this show did once a number of years back about coroners, and they featured a guy who worked as a coroner despite not really having the training for it (and there was weird stuff with him having different names, too, I think, or something like that)...

...and none of the bodies in his building were refrigerated. They were all just crowded into this little space and he had, like, a Glade air freshener in there. 

And this was somewhere in southern Missouri. Aside from the obvious horrors of someone being able to keep bodies like that, I mainly remember my big takeaway from that segment being, "...I don't even want to imagine what that place will smell like when it's a hot summer's day." 

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That clip from One Tree Hill... Of course I remember John showing that before, but I don't remember if I learned why that one guy looked so disapproving toward the one who lost the heart.

I remember seeing that clip on "The Soup" :D. I've never seen "One Tree Hill", but now I'm really curious about that scene in its full context :p. 

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Oh, and when John started to say they had bought teeth from the website, I couldn't believe it! Whew! Of course they didn't.

His response to the audience's reaction in that moment was perfection :D. He was so offended!

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Loved John saying that it took three times to expel Santos, like a reverse Beetlejuice. And then "No pun intended, no pun detected." 

I loved him analyzing Santos' astrology sign :p. 

I also liked John describing the debate between Newsom and DeSantas as "a battle of 'who gives a shit?'"

[peeayebee]

An Oral History of the Time a Dog Ate a Heart on One Tree Hill.

[Annber03]

26 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

An Oral History of the Time a Dog Ate a Heart on One Tree Hill.

That was an amazing read, holy crap. Everything with Catfish, and the search for a heart to use for the storyline. The whole idea starting as a silly joke to toss around for grins and giggles, only to eventually become a thing. The reason why Murray has the facial expression he does. I can't...

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Schwahn: I just started thinking about it, and I thought, you know, we’d all heard stories about someone getting their animal stoned or whatever. So I thought, this guy is stoned, his dog gets into his stash. He’s not making good decisions at this point because he’s high, and he loves his dog so he takes the dog to the hospital. And of course the receptionist is lecturing him: “Sit your stupid ass down and I’ll call you a veterinarian.” So he sits down; the dog’s leash is there. … The dog’s stoned so he’s hungry. And he wants a snack.

Johansson: Why couldn’t this happen? Why not?

 

I just have to quote this explanation, because wow. Just. Wow. 

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Eugene Storozynsky, MD, PhD (director of Cardio-Oncology Clinic, University of Rochester Medical Center): I mean, there would be absolutely no way that a cat or a dog or any other animal would ever be found inside a hospital.

I love that they had an actual doctor chime in here to say this XD.

I also appreciate them giving a nod to "The Soup" playing the clip :p. And the mention of "Grey's Anatomy" in here - honestly, I'm kind of surprised this scene didn't happen on that show. It seems like the sort of crazy thing that show would do :p.

Just. Yeah. Thanks for sharing that link, that was fascinating. That show sounds like it was an absolute TRIP. 

[bilgistic]

The Reuters series to which John referred about body brokers can be found here. I read it when it was published. It's wild.

[MicheleinPhilly]

15 hours ago, peeayebee said:

That clip from One Tree Hill... Of course I remember John showing that before, but I don't remember if I learned why that one guy looked so disapproving toward the one who lost the heart.

I had to pause the show because I was laughing so hard at that. 

[andromeda331]

As soon as I saw the episode title I really wasn't sure I want to know what's happening to organs and body donations. This segment outline why I really, really hope I don't know what happens to my body when I'm gone. When I'm dying I can assume all my organs and stuff are going to people who need them instead of eaten by a dog or rat or in a museum. My uncle donated his body to science I want to assume it went to a medical school.

The hotel ballroom full of people looking at dead body. It reminded me of how in the 1800s wealthy people would have unwrapping parties, unwrapping mummies. I thought that was creepy and wrong and they were bodies that were over thousands of years old. This is just as creepy and wrong. 

I really thought that it was illegal to sell bones and bodies. I also thought that people donated their bones to museums and stuff. What is wrong with people?

[rwlevin]

As a child and niece of people who have had multiple organ transplants, this episode hits close to home. My stepdad's uncle was one of those people who received a call saying they had a kidney for him and when the kidney showed up, it was... not good. Luckily, he received another call about a week later. My uncle, who was in his fifties at the time, received a kidney that somebody else turned down and that kidney never fully worked and ended up failing less than 5 years later. Turned out the kidney was from somebody in their late 70s and not in the best of health. I had a teenage patient that ended up getting two liver transplants in less than 2 weeks because the first one was also...well it had been turned down by other people too. 

That's the other thing that people don't tell you about organ transplants. They don't always work that well, bodies will reject them and it's very common for people to need repeat transplants. Now that doesn't mean I'm saying don't donate. Far from it. But it's definitely why we need more people to donate. 

[Lantern7]

Not much I can add. Once again, John shines a light on a blind spot, and we are horrified. Also, you can purchase body parts online, including teeth. John’s fakeout was brilliant, because he’s always buying weird shit.

I’m thinking Santos winds up on Dancing With The Stars. Or maybe The Masked Singer.He’s such a weird little man. The worst part is that Bowen Yang has one less option to play on SNL. Guy got a lot of mileage out of his Santos impression.

If you’ve never watched  the Terminator movies, I recommend checking out the first two. Lots of loud stuff, but there is the message on the dangers of artificial intelligence.

[peeayebee]

11 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I’m thinking Santos winds up on Dancing With The Stars. Or maybe The Masked Singer.He’s such a weird little man.

If he is offered either show, he would definitely accept. I wish he would disappear, even though that means no more Bowen impression.