Should we harvest the limbs of paraplegics (1 Viewer)

[Graney]

Serious thread.


Whilst technology to repair spinal cords is still quite a way off, should we utilise the limbs of para/quadra-plegics to provide transplants to other people?

 

[Omie Jay]

with their consent, yes imo.

but who'd wanna look like a torso with a head, they'd probably wanna keep their arms and legs for aesthetic purposes, so i highly doubt this would ever happen.

not a bad idea though, it's not like they need their not-working-anymore arms and legs.

 

[Graney]

plus they would be more efficient on their wheelchairs due to less dead weight

 

[boganxcore]

hehehe i know where you got this

 

[pman]

I can see practical uses for it but I doubt it will ever happen..

 

[loquasagacious]

Provided that they consent I don't see why not.

 

[Graney]

what if there is no way for them to communicate

 

[jb_nc]

what if there is no way for them to communicate

hmm thats a valid point

perhaps the legislation could stipulate that a lack of consent is equal to consent.

so an opt-out harvesting scheme

 

[Graney]

same as rape!

consent is assumed always

 

[aussie-boy]

Wait a sec lol, how are they going to say upright in the bath? Or sit in a car seat? Or even in their wheelchairs lol?

How will people hug them, how will they wear clothes like the rest of us through which self expression can be achieved?

How will they use the bathroom, cushion themselves from a fall (even if involuntarily)?

etc etc

 

[I.refuse.a.name]

No way! It's not right to give another living person's limbs away for whatever non life saving purpose. That's what prosthetic limbs are for. It's completely inhumane and makes people sound like spare parts factories rather than actual human beings. Besides, sometimes paraplegics recover, and in any case losing control of part of the body does not mean other parts become redundant.

This shouldn't even be a question, lol. :s *Holds on to own limbs just in case they get stolen*

 

[madsam]

What if, after the day after someone donates their limbs, they develop the technology to give them sensitivity back in their limbs? That'd suck then, cause tehre would be no hope

Also, who wants a cripples leg, have you seen them? They're basically just skin and bone anyway =\

 

[Omie Jay]

No way! It's not right to give another living person's limbs away for whatever non life saving purpose. That's what prosthetic limbs are for. It's completely inhumane and makes people sound like spare parts factories rather than actual human beings. Besides, sometimes paraplegics recover, and in any case losing control of part of the body does not mean other parts become redundant.

This shouldn't even be a question, lol. :s *Holds on to own limbs just in case they get stolen*

that's why "consent" is the keyword here.

as absurd as this sounds, it's not a bad idea, but like i said in my earlier post, i doubt many will consent to donating libs.

 

[murphyad]

Couple of things make me skeptical of this idea:

1. Whether or not there is the required level of demand for the legs, and

2. Given that it should hopefully be capable in the next 10 to 20 years to grow a limb from someone's DNA, it seems pointless to establish a large-scale operation for using the limbs of the handicapped.

Maybe as a short-term thing it might work, and with the proper regulation.

 

[Serius]

I think they usually like to keep them for balance, asthetics etc. Theres also breakthroughs with stem cell research, nanotech, robotics, happening all the time that you dont know when something could give you functionality again.

However, if they consented and wanted to donate their effectively useless limbs, i beleive they should be allowed to. I just dont see why they would want to.....also they should probably get a coupon for new limbs if a breakthrough did come along in the future that cured them. Also put them at the top of the list for experiments in regrowing limbs, reconnecting spinal cords etc.

 

[SnowFox]

Wait a sec lol, how are they going to say upright in the bath? Or sit in a car seat? Or even in their wheelchairs lol?

How will people hug them, how will they wear clothes like the rest of us through which self expression can be achieved?

How will they use the bathroom, cushion themselves from a fall (even if involuntarily)?

etc etc

Last i checked Quadriplegics dont do many things.

 

[loquasagacious]

How will people hug them,

ahahahahaha

 

[Dombrovski]

I'd say yeah, sure, but its more of a matter of whether it could actually work...

If a limb has been out of action for a long time, the muscle atrophy would substanitally impare the benefit of that limb, and the resulting rehab would probably span for a very very long time

What about the significant immunological concerns? If surgery took place, and then the limb was rejected, that would be devasting to both parties; and then the amount of immunosuppressants needed would surely reduce the quality of life, even if the limb did "take" to the body.
You'd have to weigh out pros and cons there.

Also, wouldn't there be issues with bone marrow (depending on the age of the donor) as after all, it is an entire limb?
if the bones keep producing blood cells the immune response would be through the roof as the foreign cells would attempt to proliferate throughout the body, and the self response would destroy the cells. This then releases major toxins into the body, resulting in kidney and liver damage.

IF it could work, what if there was a limb donation service, working the same way as organ donation when you died?

Maybe not even a whole limb, maybe even just fingers and thumbs or something similar?

 

[Graney]

No, without consent, because they are not utilising the limb properly