A father has claimed that surgeons pressured him to donate his daughter's organs while she was still alive, highlighting the contentious legal definition of death in the United States. Mike O'Connor's 26-year-old daughter Brittany was declared brain dead after a suspected suicide attempt in November 2017, but he insisted she was still alive and responding to his touch.
O'Connor was at Brittany's bedside at Fresno Community Hospital when a police officer was called to remove him. He was given just three minutes to say goodbye before being escorted out. He later learned that doctors had harvested Brittany's heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs without his consent. He said he did not receive confirmation of her death until three days later, when the coroner called about her remains.
The case has reignited debate over the definition of death in the US, where brain death is legally recognised as death. However, families often struggle to accept that a warm, breathing body is no longer alive. Organ procurement organisations are under pressure to secure organs for the thousands on waiting lists, leading to conflicts with grieving relatives.
Brittany had struggled with addiction for nearly a decade and was the mother of two young children. Her father believes she was alive when her organs were taken, and that the hospital and Donor Network West acted prematurely. The hospital has not commented on the specific allegations.
