in an older post the question of whether or not lucy would be an organ donor came up. it appears that she is not. since her character fought so hard for transplant for young girl in earlier episode i thought she would be. could the reason they didnt bring it up be that she could not donate because of attack damage or some other medical reason that i missed?

-- tina (tmt124@webtv.net), February 22, 2000

Answers

I don't know, but I'd guess that she couldn't donate for various medical reasons (she had at least one chest tube, so the lungs were out, her heart failed, so that was out, etc., etc.). I agree, though, she probably would have signed an organ donor card after all that!

-- Lisa (Shaniakicks@hotmail.com), February 22, 2000.

The subject of organ transplanting would have been a great addition to the story. There are many , many parts of the body that can be used ( corneas for instance). I'm sure that donating would have been something that Lucy would have wanted to do and including it in the story-line might have made her death seem somewhat less of a total waste. Besides, it would have been a boost for the whole organ donor program to have a popular TV show endorse the idea of being a donor.

-- Nancy (cakelady_ca@yahoo.com), February 22, 2000.

Lucy suffered a pulmonary embolism and damage to the heart sac, which eliminated her as a heart/lung donor. Her liver was damaged, which eliminates that organ also. The amount of abdominal damage would rule out intestinal transplants, leaving not much more than corneas and possibly kidneys. We may hear in future episodes that these were harvested, but it would have interferred with the drama of her death and Romano and Weaver's last acts of tenderness to make a point of it on this episode.

-- Chessie King (barrelofcrows@hotmail.com), February 22, 2000.

Was reading an article about transplanting human tissue and I'm sure that Lucy would have been a candidate. True, her major organs probably were not suitable because of the trauma her body experienced, however they can transplant not only corneas (as I already mentioned) but also bone, skin, veins, cartlidge and other connective tissue. I agree with your point that it would have taken away from the final scene with Romano and Weaver if ,at the moment of death, another team of doctors took the body away to harvest organs/tissue. BUT, I do think that is what Lucy would have wanted so that something good could have come from her death. Remember how hard she worked to help Valerie get a new heart.

-- Nancy (cakelady_ca@yahoo.com), February 22, 2000.

what a great point about boosting organ donor programs.

-- tina (tmt124@webtv.net), February 23, 2000.

I thought it might have been touching if they had kept Valerie alive and killed Lucy off some other way so that Valerie could receive her heart. I mean, we know Lucy desperately wanted to help her, and it seemed like it might have been a fitting end to her life of compassion. I don't know, do you guys think that would have been over- the-top cheesy?

-- (jac301@is9.nyu.edu), February 23, 2000.

Also I wanted to add that, in my understanding, she can't donate until her mother arrives and gives consent anyway, and by then she will have been dead to long. Is that correct?

-- (jac301@is9.nyu.edu), February 23, 2000.

I'm not sure, but I'd guess that since she's 24, if she signed an organ donor card that they could do it w/o her mom's permission, but I'm no expert, and please correct me if I'm wrong!

-- Lisa (Shaniakicks@hotmail.com), February 24, 2000.

Hey jac301, I was thinking sort of the same thing about Valerie. Even if Lucy's heart wasn't used for her, it would have been nice if Valerie hadn't died in that episode. Then, when Lucy died, we could have realized that she helped another person to live, a person who was so like her: caring, optimistic, same age, even blond hair! Then, Valerie, who said something like she was SUPPOSED to graduate in May or June (so was Lucy) lived, we would know that at least one of them (Valerie) got to achieve her dream.

-- Annie (GoldenLaur@aol.com), February 25, 2000.

Lisa, wasn't there an epi where Peter promised a man's organs to someone else and then the wife wouldn't give consent? I've always been told that when you have the words "organ donor" put on your license, you must make sure your family knows about your wishes. It sounds stupid to me, but hey. . . anyway I still could be wrong, so if you have anymore info, I'd be glad to hear it.

-- joy (jac301@is9.nyu.edu), February 28, 2000.