New Jersey Group Attempted to Harvest Organs From Patient with Signs of Life
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A New Jersey group is under investigation for allegedly attempting to harvest organs from a patient showing signs of life, sparking concerns about medical ethics and end-of-life care, with commenters expressing outrage and sharing personal experiences of pressure to end life-sustaining treatment.
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Nov 19, 2025 at 2:56 PM EST
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This wasn't something in passing. It's non-stop throughout his time there. To the point of harassment and they try to divide-and-conquer with my family. The first time, he recovered within a couple of weeks and went home.
He's sick again with RSV, and they are pushing it again. He will probably be released within a week or so. He has no dementia, heart issues, or cancer. His main problem is his knees, which is pretty common with a 90 year old.
I'm just not clear on the motive. Why care so much about this? It's not like he's a vegetable and suffering. His quality of life, even after the first time he came out, wasn't too bad.
It also seems like nobody knows what they are doing. If my mom hadn't been there to watch what they were doing, he probably would have died the first time.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/unitedhealths-alleged-plan-t...
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/unitedhealth-secretly-p...
Health insurers/private equity are not your friends!
Are these palliative care doctors and nurses engaging with the patient and your family? One thing they do is ask about code status (full code vs DNR/DNI) and clarify what the wishes of the patient are, help out with legacy planning, make sure everyone is aware of all the possible outcomes (not just death but reduction in QOL), and provide emotional support. Note that this job is not limited to a palliative team, but most patients and families don’t think about these things until it’s too late. CPR can have a pretty poor outcome in many elderly patients and can do more harm then good, so they may just want to make sure you have all the right information. It’s becoming the standard to engage in these talks sooner, not necessarily because they anticipate a poor recovery on this admission but you never know about the next one.
Just FYI and to tie this back to the original article, the physicians taking care of your father have no say in organ donation, it’s a conflict of interest for obvious reasons.
BTW I believe this is a big unspoken driver of people opting out from organ donation...
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