Pope can no longer donate organs: Vatican

[WillParkinson]

Pope can no longer donate organs: Vatican


Pope Benedict XVI waves as he leaves the Eucharistic celebration after giving to the 24 newly appointed cardinals their ring on November 21, 2010 at St Peter's basilica at The Vatican.
Photograph by: AFP, Getty

Pope Benedict has a soft spot in his heart for organ donations but his body parts can't be donated to save lives after he dies, the Vatican says.

A doctor in Germany had been using the fact that the pope possessed an organ donors' card from a medical association to advocate the practice. The Vatican asked him to stop but he did not.

To settle the matter, the pope's secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, sent a letter to the doctor and the missive was reported in the German program of Vatican Radio.

"It's true that the pope owns an organ donor card . . . but contrary to public opinion, the card issued back in the 1970s became de facto invalid with Cardinal Ratzinger's election to the papacy," Vatican Radio quoted from the letter.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/story.html?id=4224720#ixzz1D2YMgp3p

[baldguy]

1. I though it would've been invalid when he hit 70.

[TheMadMonk]

2. I thought the basic incompatibility between Infernal and Human...

...DNA would have precluded the posibility of his donating on this plane.

[Cleita]

3. Not necessarily. There is an old donor

caveat a lot of people don't know about. If an organ recipient is elderly, they might get an organ from another elderly person, whereas they might not get an organ as younger people would be favored to receive the organs first and an elderly person's organ would ordinarily not be acceptable for transplant to a younger person. Of course there is a problem too of finding a doctor willing to do an elderly transplant. Most don't want to as the risk is very high.

[kenny blankenship]

4. Well of course he can't. He'll need them while he's being Pope in the afterlife

But what about the household servants that will be strangled and buried in his tomb to accompany him? Do they also need all their internal organs to carry out their service, or can they leave some of their kidneys and livers behind for donation, and pack light for the Big Send-Off?

[markpkessinger]

5. Who wants used parts from an 84 year-old anyway? n/t

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

6. Has anyone considered that anyone called Rat-Finger....

May not be human to begin with?

[angstlessk]

7. hell I thought as Catholic I could not donate my organs....needed to be burried whole..so I can be

resurrected...they keep changing the rules...hell I ate 10,000 fish sticks (Fridays) in my youth for no reason what so ever!

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Hey fish is GOOD for ya

We did as well, out of respect for the ladies that work at home.

Fridays was meatless day during that time of the year.

[angstlessk]

9. we as Catholics could not eat meat ANY Friday...and LENT..FORGEDABOUDIT

NO MEAT WHATSOEVER!...

to reiterate...NO MEAT ON ANY FRIDAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.....EVER...NEVER...OR YOU GO TO HELL...except they changed their mind...

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. You know the reason why?

Hubby told me, he was Catholic... a way to get bidness to merchants...

But yes, less observant people didn't eat fish only on lent, by extension we didn't.

[niyad]

11. personally, I can't see how anybody would WANT an organ from that pedophilia-loving creep