IF the young woman had died from liver failure... - Grey's Anatomy (2005) Discussion

[–] SarahKSeraSera 8 years ago

What would have been more interesting is if the old woman's body rejected the liver and it didn't save her life, while the liver Meredith's patient got did save her life. Also was there a reason given why they couldn't split the liver as in many cases, like when Meredith donated part of her liver, they don't take the whole liver.

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[–] hughjman 8 years ago

Really good point, SarahK!

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[–] ell_sax80 8 years ago

Generally there was a fear that a partial liver transplant won't be as successful as a complete transplant (longer recovery times, etc.) But studies have actually shown that split liver transplants have a pretty equivalent success rate

I could be wrong now....but i don't think so!

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[–] telejunkie 8 years ago

This. The entire episode I was hoping the old woman would reject it. Would have been a more interesting storyline for sure.

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[–] straw_hat_boy_luffy 8 years ago

What would have been even more interesting would be if the old lady had given it up and then died. Especially if they had Meredith coerce her into it.

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[–] justabitofeverythingplease 8 years ago

All I could think was how on earth can they make this woman choose between herself and a stranger? Why would they put someone in that position? That liver was for her, and that's the end of it. It's sad, but people die.
Seriously, had that younger woman not gotten a liver luckily, that older woman could have started to feel guilty for letting another person die while she could have done something about it. I think it was great the older woman decided to keep the liver though!

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[–] SarahKSeraSera 8 years ago

If I was 80, I probably would say screw it, I don't want to be on a transplant list, lie around waiting for one, just live my life & go out with a bang. If I was in my early 70's maybe I would say yes, I want my liver, but I would also think about they much younger woman

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[–] sdtony42 8 years ago

Seriously, had that younger woman not gotten a liver luckily, that older woman could have started to feel guilty for letting another person die while she could have done something about it.

As she damned well should. She was 80 years old, surrounded by children and grandchildren, and still in solid shape without a liver. That's more than a lot of people get in this life. To let some 25 year old with their whole lives ahead of them die is pretty selfish.

I hope in the next episode, we find out that liver had rabies and the doctors just missed it.

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[–] justabitofeverythingplease 8 years ago

Why is the life of an 80 year old woman worth less than that of a 25 year old woman?

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[–] CrazyChatGirl 8 years ago

Say the 25 year old was a violent drug abusing child abuser giving birth to five kids and suffocating three out of hatred for the inconveniences of motherhood after receiving the liver.

Would you still consider the younger more deserving of the organ than a beloved granny being coerced out of it and then dying of liver failure before getting to see her youngest grandchild after waiting three years for it, only to be guilted out of accepting it at the last minute?

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[–] eatasnickers 8 years ago

I 100% thought her sister was going to come back and say she got an abortion so she can donate hers. And then when the other liver popped up, I got hella nervous thinking she was about to find out that she aborted for nothing.

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[–] XxXThePhantomsRoseXxX 8 years ago

what got me wasn't that she said no. she had every right to say no. but the way she said no was disgusting to me. she said "screw her" (showing no compassion in the slightest) and then went on to talk about the young woman as if she was trying to swoop in and "steal" her liver. like the young woman was some sort of sneaky little thief as opposed to a 25 year old sister and daughter who was dying while her twin sat by her bedside and watched. it was absolutely dispicable in my mind. she had every right to say no, but the way she went about saying no, and her attitude to the young woman was disgusting.

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[–] telejunkie 8 years ago

Agree 100 %. I kept hoping her new liver would fail. She was despicable about it.

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[–] shoppermom26 8 years ago

Agreed! She started by saying "Oh that poor girl" and then turns around saying "Screw her" Well okay then. Compassion went out the door pretty quickly

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[–] turnera70 8 years ago

Now that would have been an interesting plot!

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[–] SarahKSeraSera 8 years ago

& the daughter/granddaughter came out and apologized, I think she was hoping Granny would change her mind and give up the liver. It looked like the girl was sad Granny said no

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[–] SarahKSeraSera 8 years ago

I am glad that Alex stopped her from trying to "steal" the liver. They are good for each other as friends

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[–] Mustang_Mama13 8 years ago

Yeah that would have been better and more realistic. It took 3 years for a match for the old woman but for the younger one, two matches in one day? Really?

I feel that the decision should not have been up to the old woman. The organ should have gone to the sickiest person. I don't know how it works in real life, but it should be this way. Also, maybe an age limit.

Stay single and happy my friends

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[–] Gigi_Marie 8 years ago

I feel that the decision should not have been up to the old woman. The organ should have gone to the sickiest person. I don't know how it works in real life, but it should be this way. Also, maybe an age limit.

From what I understand, normally the liver WOULD have gone to the younger woman, but it had already been allocated to the old lady. Essentially, they had already "given" it to her on paper so they had no choice. If the liver hadn't already been assigned to her, then yes, the other woman would have certainly gone to the top of the list and received the liver.

As far as an age limit, that would never happen. Nobody gets to say "you shouldn't be given the chance at a longer life because you're too old already."

What the hell is a Stiles?

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[–] SarahKSeraSera 8 years ago

True, but there are restrictions in other cases like Thatcher. They won't consider someone who has not be sober for less than a yr, which is why they couldn't put him on the list. (he was only 3 months in)Thus only a donor could be used and Lexie didn't "have his blood" but Meredith did and it was Lexie who convinced her to donate. I like how Alex told her he may be a crap dad, but he was family and Derek without saying a word, let her decide and accept her decision, whereas Mark was totally against it if Lexie happened to be a match. She was his girlfriend and was putting his foot down and Derek was Meredith husband and was like, its your decision.

Also reminded me of a mean old man on Saving Hope who was allocated a organ and a much sicker, younger patient needed the same organ, yet he refused to give up his spot and the younger patient ended up dying and her foster daughter had to go back into the system

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[–] shrilltrills 8 years ago

Well, it took three years for the old woman probably because her case wasn't all that serious to begin with. Also, for the younger one, they just happened to have another patient in the hospital who died that day who was a match. It was just a massive coincidence.

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[–] greek-fan 8 years ago

I actually thought that when Meredith got in the room to let her twin sister know, she would code and die. Grey's anatomy makes me always think of the worst case scenario haha

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[–] holchie 8 years ago

I already mentioned this somewhere else, but: If the older lady, June, had to wait 3 years to get a liver, why were they so sure she was going to get one right away if she agreed to give her liver to the young woman?

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