Alfie Gets a Transplant

I'm a bit behind on Offspring. They're on episode 10. Tonight I watched episode 7 and 8.

There was a child in medical danger—Alfie Proudman. He's two-years-old and his liver suddenly failed. It was all very tense and sad.

I think they had a good moral dilemma on the show. Alfie's Aunt Nina had the right blood type and was therefore a potential donor.  She wanted to help her nephew but was worried over the fact that 1/200 donors end up dying in the surgery. If she wasn't a mother herself, I think she'd say yes without hesitation. But not only is she a mother, but the father of her baby has already died. If she ends up being the unlucky 1/200, her daughter will be an orphan.

In the end, she decides to do it. Although lucky for her, another donor is found.

I think she made the right choice. I imagine I'd do the same thing if I was faced with the situation when Jack was a baby. But emotionally, I would really want to say no. I would have hated to risk my life. And Jack was a very attached child. Risking my life would be bad, but just being away from him—staying at the hospital. That would have been traumatic. I'd like to say, just for him, but it would have been traumatic for me too.  

But taking away the emotional aspects, it seemed that if Alfie didn't get the transplant, the chance of death was about 100%. And although 1/200 odds are frightening, if you turn it around to say 199 out of 200 people survive being a liver donor, it sounds pretty decent.  Or even better, say it as you have a 99.5% of surviving the surgery.

Looking at the numbers, it makes sense to be the donor.

And then if you reinsert the emotional aspects. How can you watch the parents of the gravely ill child and not imagine being in their place?  

So then what is worse —leaving a young child an orphan or having parents lose their child?

I'd say both are bad really. Equally. Though some may disagree with me.

What if the chances of donor death were much higher? What if Nina's chance of dying was 50/50. Should she risk it?

Hell. I don't know.

Maybe it would be okay. Though Nina doesn't have an official co-parent, she has a great support system.  

On to other things....

Darcy Proudman has returned!  He came back for the transplant storyline. I thought it was kind of funny because the last time I saw John Waters, he was doing a transplant storyline on All Saints

I saw from the previews that Mick is returning. I'm not into him getting back together with Billie. I do think Billie and Mick have better chemistry than Billie and the other guy. I forget his name.  But I think Mick has been a jerk. A hypocrite really.  He cheated on Billie with her own sister!  She forgives him.  Then a few years later, she's depressed and cheats on him.  My sister says, two wrongs don't make a right.  I agree. Sort of. But if one person does a wrong and then the other person—without malicious intent—does the same wrong, the original wrong-doer is obligated to quickly forgive the second wrong-doer.  





How would our world change if we knew for sure there was life after death, and it was easy for our dearly-departed to talk to us via the Internet?   

The Dead are Online, a novel by Dina Roberts 

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