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When Death Becomes Life: Notes from a Transplant Surgeon
"With When Death Becomes Life, Joshua Mezrich has performed the perfect core biopsy of transplantation—a clear and compelling account of the grueling daily work, the spell-binding history and the unsettling ethical issues that haunt this miraculous lifesaving treatment. Mezrich's compassionate and honest voice, punctuated by a sharp and intelligent wit, render the enormous subject not just palatable but downright engrossing."—Pauline Chen, author of Final A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality
A gifted surgeon illuminates one of the most profound, awe-inspiring, and deeply affecting achievements of modern day medicine—the movement of organs between bodies—in this exceptional work of death and life that takes its place besides Atul Gawande’s Complications, Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies, and Jerome Groopman’s How Doctors Think.
At the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Joshua Mezrich creates life from loss, transplanting organs from one body to another. In this intimate, profoundly moving work, he illuminates the extraordinary field of transplantation that enables this kind of miracle to happen every day.
When Death Becomes Life is a thrilling look at how science advances on a grand scale to improve human lives. Mezrich examines more than one hundred years of remarkable medical breakthroughs, connecting this fascinating history with the inspiring and heartbreaking stories of his transplant patients. Combining gentle sensitivity with scientific clarity, Mezrich reflects on his calling as a doctor and introduces the modern pioneers who made transplantation a reality—maverick surgeons whose feats of imagination, bold vision, and daring risk taking generated techniques and practices that save millions of lives around the world.
Mezrich takes us inside the operating room and unlocks the wondrous process of transplant surgery, a delicate, intense ballet requiring precise timing, breathtaking skill, and at times, creative improvisation. In illuminating this work, Mezrich touches the essence of existence and what it means to be alive. Most physicians fight death, but in transplantation, doctors take from death. Mezrich shares his gratitude and awe for the privilege of being part of this transformative exchange as the dead give their last breath of life to the living. After all, the donors are his patients, too.
When Death Becomes Life also engages in fascinating ethical and philosophical How much risk should a healthy person be allowed to take to save someone she loves? Should a patient suffering from alcoholism receive a healthy liver? What defines death, and what role did organ transplantation play in that definition? The human story behind the most exceptional medicine of our time, Mezrich’s riveting book is a beautiful, poignant reminder that a life lost can also offer the hope of a new beginning.
A gifted surgeon illuminates one of the most profound, awe-inspiring, and deeply affecting achievements of modern day medicine—the movement of organs between bodies—in this exceptional work of death and life that takes its place besides Atul Gawande’s Complications, Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies, and Jerome Groopman’s How Doctors Think.
At the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Joshua Mezrich creates life from loss, transplanting organs from one body to another. In this intimate, profoundly moving work, he illuminates the extraordinary field of transplantation that enables this kind of miracle to happen every day.
When Death Becomes Life is a thrilling look at how science advances on a grand scale to improve human lives. Mezrich examines more than one hundred years of remarkable medical breakthroughs, connecting this fascinating history with the inspiring and heartbreaking stories of his transplant patients. Combining gentle sensitivity with scientific clarity, Mezrich reflects on his calling as a doctor and introduces the modern pioneers who made transplantation a reality—maverick surgeons whose feats of imagination, bold vision, and daring risk taking generated techniques and practices that save millions of lives around the world.
Mezrich takes us inside the operating room and unlocks the wondrous process of transplant surgery, a delicate, intense ballet requiring precise timing, breathtaking skill, and at times, creative improvisation. In illuminating this work, Mezrich touches the essence of existence and what it means to be alive. Most physicians fight death, but in transplantation, doctors take from death. Mezrich shares his gratitude and awe for the privilege of being part of this transformative exchange as the dead give their last breath of life to the living. After all, the donors are his patients, too.
When Death Becomes Life also engages in fascinating ethical and philosophical How much risk should a healthy person be allowed to take to save someone she loves? Should a patient suffering from alcoholism receive a healthy liver? What defines death, and what role did organ transplantation play in that definition? The human story behind the most exceptional medicine of our time, Mezrich’s riveting book is a beautiful, poignant reminder that a life lost can also offer the hope of a new beginning.
387 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 15, 2019
689 people are currently reading
9930 people want to read
About the author
Joshua D. Mezrich
3 books31 followersA graduate of Cornell Medical School, Joshua Mezrich, MD, is an associate professor of surgery in the division of multi-organ transplantation at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 542 reviews
October 11, 2019
This is both about the history of transplantation and about the author's training as a transplant surgeon, both are equally interesting. We all know the details of "harvesting" organs, although now they say 'procuring' as it doesn't sound quite so like the organs are just there for the taking. There isn't any point in a long review as what is written is what we know, it's just more detail (interesting) with stories of some of the patients.
Two problems that started at the first successful transplant and remain unsolved are that of rejection and the fact you can't really live a completely normal life. The drugs that stop rejection must be taken for life and not even a single dose can be missed.The drugs are immunosuppressants which means that among other side effects, resistance to infections is greatly lowered. The life expectancy of a person with a transplanted heart is under 10 years, transplanted kidneys can go for up to 20 years.
For how life really is read Sick Girl. The author, Amy Silverstein had a heart transplant at 24, and in a very fierce book, writes how life really is with heart disease, a heart transplant, recovery and adjusting to life with it.
The book is beautifully-written, the author is a naturally talented writer which adds to the enjoyment of the book.
We should all leave our organs for transplantation. If your religion says you can't, then think, what kind of god would not want you to give life to another? I'm sure he'd forgive you.
Finished March 1st, 2019
Two problems that started at the first successful transplant and remain unsolved are that of rejection and the fact you can't really live a completely normal life. The drugs that stop rejection must be taken for life and not even a single dose can be missed.The drugs are immunosuppressants which means that among other side effects, resistance to infections is greatly lowered. The life expectancy of a person with a transplanted heart is under 10 years, transplanted kidneys can go for up to 20 years.
For how life really is read Sick Girl. The author, Amy Silverstein had a heart transplant at 24, and in a very fierce book, writes how life really is with heart disease, a heart transplant, recovery and adjusting to life with it.
The book is beautifully-written, the author is a naturally talented writer which adds to the enjoyment of the book.
We should all leave our organs for transplantation. If your religion says you can't, then think, what kind of god would not want you to give life to another? I'm sure he'd forgive you.
Finished March 1st, 2019
May 13, 2024
Since I knew nothing about transplant surgery I found this very interesting. A lot of history with some apt clinical cases.
March 16, 2019
There is a reason this book has a 96% 5-star rating on Amazon.
As someone who has been interested in medicine since I was a young child, I tend to read a lot of books such as this one. This is one of the best I've read in the field of organ transplants.
While you will learn about the pioneers in the field in this book, you will also read about what it means to be a person on a waiting list for an organ transplant, and the feeling that someone else needs to die so that you can live. Of course, this is not true in all cases, as living donors are now common for liver and single kidney transplants, but anyone needing an organ to live must grapple with the fact that someone else must either sacrifice a portion of one of their own organs, or someone else must die.
This book is, as you might expect, about what it is like to be on the front lines of organ transplants: the waiting, the phone call that may come at any moment and activates such a chain of events leading up to saving a life, and even what loved ones of the patients go through as they watch someone slowly deteriorate. It is a delicate balance - if the patient becomes too sick, they are off the list as they are unlikely to survive the surgery. If the patient isn't sick enough, they take a back seat to someone who is closer to death but still well enough to have a fighting chance of surviving the surgery.
For people who become organ donors, it is the ultimate gift. For parents or loved ones who are asked, at the worst possible moment in their lives, if their loved one would want to donate organs, we must thank them for saying "yes" to donation.
You may think this book is about death, but it is not. It is about hope and never, ever giving up. It is about scientists and physicians who have made organ transplant possible. And it is about those who are no longer with us physically, but who live on in the lives they saved.
As someone who has been interested in medicine since I was a young child, I tend to read a lot of books such as this one. This is one of the best I've read in the field of organ transplants.
While you will learn about the pioneers in the field in this book, you will also read about what it means to be a person on a waiting list for an organ transplant, and the feeling that someone else needs to die so that you can live. Of course, this is not true in all cases, as living donors are now common for liver and single kidney transplants, but anyone needing an organ to live must grapple with the fact that someone else must either sacrifice a portion of one of their own organs, or someone else must die.
This book is, as you might expect, about what it is like to be on the front lines of organ transplants: the waiting, the phone call that may come at any moment and activates such a chain of events leading up to saving a life, and even what loved ones of the patients go through as they watch someone slowly deteriorate. It is a delicate balance - if the patient becomes too sick, they are off the list as they are unlikely to survive the surgery. If the patient isn't sick enough, they take a back seat to someone who is closer to death but still well enough to have a fighting chance of surviving the surgery.
For people who become organ donors, it is the ultimate gift. For parents or loved ones who are asked, at the worst possible moment in their lives, if their loved one would want to donate organs, we must thank them for saying "yes" to donation.
You may think this book is about death, but it is not. It is about hope and never, ever giving up. It is about scientists and physicians who have made organ transplant possible. And it is about those who are no longer with us physically, but who live on in the lives they saved.
March 2, 2019
Consider five lives can be impacted positively with a body donation via surgical transplantation. While Dr. Joshua D. Mezrich covers over 100 years of surgical transplant history and entices you into the OR to witness the “perfusion of a kidney” post-transplant. Here anything lacking perfection equates to morbid outcomes (for patient and surgeon).
"The liver will start pouring bile. The lungs start essentially breathing, the most dramatic organ, of course, is the heart, because you put it in and you kind of ...give a little shock and it just starts beating, and that's pretty darn dramatic."
---Joshua D. Mezrich, MD
Reflecting on “When Death Becomes Life: Notes from a Transplant Surgeon” the book unravels like a vine in a most riveting way. It engages us to question, should a chronically alcoholic woman receive a donor liver? Mezrich recalls his patients with accuracy like “patient is yellow as a banana” and why this is---medically significant.
At University of Wisconsin at Madison Dr. Mezrich orchestrates medical thaumaturgy via expunging organs from death and infusing them with life in new bodies. Gratitude is a quotidian elixir he gives throughout this documented transplant surgery adventure. Must read, reflect and engage others to dialogue. Note, this is not for sensitive types.
"The liver will start pouring bile. The lungs start essentially breathing, the most dramatic organ, of course, is the heart, because you put it in and you kind of ...give a little shock and it just starts beating, and that's pretty darn dramatic."
---Joshua D. Mezrich, MD
Reflecting on “When Death Becomes Life: Notes from a Transplant Surgeon” the book unravels like a vine in a most riveting way. It engages us to question, should a chronically alcoholic woman receive a donor liver? Mezrich recalls his patients with accuracy like “patient is yellow as a banana” and why this is---medically significant.
At University of Wisconsin at Madison Dr. Mezrich orchestrates medical thaumaturgy via expunging organs from death and infusing them with life in new bodies. Gratitude is a quotidian elixir he gives throughout this documented transplant surgery adventure. Must read, reflect and engage others to dialogue. Note, this is not for sensitive types.
December 16, 2019
3.5 stars
I have always linked organ donation to the analogy of a child who has outgrown his toys. If you have no more use for your toys/organs why not give it to someone who desperately needs it? Think of it as guaranteeing a little bit of yourself living on long after you are dead.
I know that’s a very simplistic view of a complex decision to become an organ donor or allow a loved one’s organs to be used and this book tries to show not only how life saving organ donation can be but also the impact on families.
I really liked the way it dipped into the history of the pioneers of organ transplants, including Dr Chris Barnard from my own country.
From surgeons taking embroidery lessons (to improve their skill in sewing arteries) to sausages inspiring the first dialyses machine the idea of taking an organ in one human and transplanting it into another was filled with failure for surgeons and horror in the mind of the public.
There was also a section on interspecies transplants which in almost all cases were complete failures however I think the author should have mentioned the success of bovine heart valves in current medical procedures. Its after all a piece of animal anatomy that’s transplanted very successfully in humans.
It’s also a pity the story didn’t cover the topics of the black-market organ trade or research into 3D printing of organs.
But overall this was a very well written insightful addition to the medical memoir genre even if there were a few sections that could have been expanded on.
If you love medical memoirs you will definitely enjoy this too.
I have always linked organ donation to the analogy of a child who has outgrown his toys. If you have no more use for your toys/organs why not give it to someone who desperately needs it? Think of it as guaranteeing a little bit of yourself living on long after you are dead.
I know that’s a very simplistic view of a complex decision to become an organ donor or allow a loved one’s organs to be used and this book tries to show not only how life saving organ donation can be but also the impact on families.
I really liked the way it dipped into the history of the pioneers of organ transplants, including Dr Chris Barnard from my own country.
From surgeons taking embroidery lessons (to improve their skill in sewing arteries) to sausages inspiring the first dialyses machine the idea of taking an organ in one human and transplanting it into another was filled with failure for surgeons and horror in the mind of the public.
There was also a section on interspecies transplants which in almost all cases were complete failures however I think the author should have mentioned the success of bovine heart valves in current medical procedures. Its after all a piece of animal anatomy that’s transplanted very successfully in humans.
It’s also a pity the story didn’t cover the topics of the black-market organ trade or research into 3D printing of organs.
But overall this was a very well written insightful addition to the medical memoir genre even if there were a few sections that could have been expanded on.
If you love medical memoirs you will definitely enjoy this too.
February 13, 2019
Summary: This book was a mixed bag for me, with some parts that were far more interesting than others and a tone that varied from too formal to too informal to spot on.
This is one of the many recent releases in what is becoming one of my favorite genres, memoir plus an intro to another topic. In this case, transplant surgeon Joshua Mezrich combines his professional memoir with a history of transplant surgery and some of his patients' stories. This blend gives the reader a glimpse of both the technical aspects of transplant surgery and the day-to-day human experience of receiving, donating, and transplanting organs.
I immediately suspected this book was going to be a mix of good and bad based on the author's tone. Within the first few chapters, the author had already used a lot of technical terms (anatomy and surgery descriptions) without bothering to define them. He'd also gone to the other extreme, using flip, casual language that was incongruous with the serious topic. This combination frequently showed up when the author was discussing the intricate details of doing surgery. The author also bounced back and forth between sounding sympathetic for his patients and sounding callous. Based on the author's discussion of the difficulties of losing patients, I suspect both the callous-seeming sections and the sections that seemed too flip were his coping mechanisms showing.
As a result of the poorly explained technical terms, the sections about doing surgery were my least favorite. They were a bit of a slog. Without pictures, it was hard to imagine what was going on. The history sections were more engaging, although there were a lot of experiments on animals. Fortunately, they weren't described in too much detail. However, my favorite parts were definitely the sections focused on the author's patients, both the organ donors and recipients. These chapters were particularly moving. We got to see people going through some of the most challenging life experiences and in many cases, making some good come of them. I also thought the author was the most sympathetic in these sections.
Overall, this was a fascinating topic and the personal bits were very good. The poorly explained technical parts just didn't live up to the rest. I'd still recommend it to people who like medical memoirs, but I suspect there are better ones you might pick up first.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey
This is one of the many recent releases in what is becoming one of my favorite genres, memoir plus an intro to another topic. In this case, transplant surgeon Joshua Mezrich combines his professional memoir with a history of transplant surgery and some of his patients' stories. This blend gives the reader a glimpse of both the technical aspects of transplant surgery and the day-to-day human experience of receiving, donating, and transplanting organs.
I immediately suspected this book was going to be a mix of good and bad based on the author's tone. Within the first few chapters, the author had already used a lot of technical terms (anatomy and surgery descriptions) without bothering to define them. He'd also gone to the other extreme, using flip, casual language that was incongruous with the serious topic. This combination frequently showed up when the author was discussing the intricate details of doing surgery. The author also bounced back and forth between sounding sympathetic for his patients and sounding callous. Based on the author's discussion of the difficulties of losing patients, I suspect both the callous-seeming sections and the sections that seemed too flip were his coping mechanisms showing.
As a result of the poorly explained technical terms, the sections about doing surgery were my least favorite. They were a bit of a slog. Without pictures, it was hard to imagine what was going on. The history sections were more engaging, although there were a lot of experiments on animals. Fortunately, they weren't described in too much detail. However, my favorite parts were definitely the sections focused on the author's patients, both the organ donors and recipients. These chapters were particularly moving. We got to see people going through some of the most challenging life experiences and in many cases, making some good come of them. I also thought the author was the most sympathetic in these sections.
Overall, this was a fascinating topic and the personal bits were very good. The poorly explained technical parts just didn't live up to the rest. I'd still recommend it to people who like medical memoirs, but I suspect there are better ones you might pick up first.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey
January 29, 2019
It is an underappreciated fact that today a surgeon can, if needed, rip open your chest, remove your heart, replace it with another one, and if all goes well, have you discharged in 10 days. This amazing feat of modern medicine, one we may rarely think about, was at one point thought to be nothing more than a science fiction fantasy—and rightly so.
The number of hurdles standing in the way of successful transplantation was enormous. These included figuring out how to suture together blood vessels without leakage or damage to the inner lining, how to keep patients alive by temporarily taking over the function of failed organs (dialysis for kidneys and cardiopulmonary bypass for the heart and lungs), and developing anti-rejection medication to prevent the host immune system from attacking the donated organ. Throw in the ethical and logistical issues associated with procuring and coordinating donated organs and recipient transplant lists and you have one of the most complex and daunting issues in the history of medicine.
If you’re like me, at some point you’ve pondered the details of the first transplantation, when and where it was performed, and who was bold enough to carry it out, along with the details about how they could have possibly figured all of this out. In When Death Becomes Life, transplant surgeon Joshua D. Mezrich answers these questions and more, telling the story of his own development as a transplant surgeon along with the history of the subject and the pioneers that made it all possible. Mezrich also catalogues the incredible stories of courageous patients and heroic donors that risked everything for a chance to live and save life.
The journey to successful transplantation was anything but easy, both in general and for Mezrich in particular. The success rates, while higher today, were extremely low for most of the history of transplantation (and particularly before the development of immunosuppression medications). Mezrich tells the stories of not only the successes but also of the disappointments and deaths, and how emotionally taxing the profession can be. (Mezrich particularly drives home the point when he recounts the first patient he killed.)
But far from being a demoralizing book, When Death Becomes Life is a testimony to human perseverance, both individually and collectively. Every failed experiment, unsuccessful operation, and accidental death brings with it the opportunity to learn and advance, and we are living during a period of time where we can witness the culmination of this sacrifice. Today, for example, the one-year survival rate for heart transplant recipients is 85 to 90 percent, compared to about 30 percent in the 1970s. Just imagine the emotional toll of having 7 out of 10 of your patients die within a year of you working on them. Today you can successfully extend the life of 9 out of 10.
This drives home a larger message; namely, that the conveniences and privileges we take for granted today were intensely and passionately fought for, and that future progress depends on the application of the same passion and perseverance. Constant vigilance—in medicine as in all areas of life—is the only way forward to a future that is better than the present.
Mezrich ends the book by contemplating the future of transplantation, including the possibility of xenotransplants (transplants between species). Pigs represent the most promising donor, and with advances in genetic engineering, we may be able to one day manipulate a pig’s genes to create organs compatible with our own immune systems. If this sounds like science fiction, so did the prospect of heart transplantation between two humans, not that long ago.
The number of hurdles standing in the way of successful transplantation was enormous. These included figuring out how to suture together blood vessels without leakage or damage to the inner lining, how to keep patients alive by temporarily taking over the function of failed organs (dialysis for kidneys and cardiopulmonary bypass for the heart and lungs), and developing anti-rejection medication to prevent the host immune system from attacking the donated organ. Throw in the ethical and logistical issues associated with procuring and coordinating donated organs and recipient transplant lists and you have one of the most complex and daunting issues in the history of medicine.
If you’re like me, at some point you’ve pondered the details of the first transplantation, when and where it was performed, and who was bold enough to carry it out, along with the details about how they could have possibly figured all of this out. In When Death Becomes Life, transplant surgeon Joshua D. Mezrich answers these questions and more, telling the story of his own development as a transplant surgeon along with the history of the subject and the pioneers that made it all possible. Mezrich also catalogues the incredible stories of courageous patients and heroic donors that risked everything for a chance to live and save life.
The journey to successful transplantation was anything but easy, both in general and for Mezrich in particular. The success rates, while higher today, were extremely low for most of the history of transplantation (and particularly before the development of immunosuppression medications). Mezrich tells the stories of not only the successes but also of the disappointments and deaths, and how emotionally taxing the profession can be. (Mezrich particularly drives home the point when he recounts the first patient he killed.)
But far from being a demoralizing book, When Death Becomes Life is a testimony to human perseverance, both individually and collectively. Every failed experiment, unsuccessful operation, and accidental death brings with it the opportunity to learn and advance, and we are living during a period of time where we can witness the culmination of this sacrifice. Today, for example, the one-year survival rate for heart transplant recipients is 85 to 90 percent, compared to about 30 percent in the 1970s. Just imagine the emotional toll of having 7 out of 10 of your patients die within a year of you working on them. Today you can successfully extend the life of 9 out of 10.
This drives home a larger message; namely, that the conveniences and privileges we take for granted today were intensely and passionately fought for, and that future progress depends on the application of the same passion and perseverance. Constant vigilance—in medicine as in all areas of life—is the only way forward to a future that is better than the present.
Mezrich ends the book by contemplating the future of transplantation, including the possibility of xenotransplants (transplants between species). Pigs represent the most promising donor, and with advances in genetic engineering, we may be able to one day manipulate a pig’s genes to create organs compatible with our own immune systems. If this sounds like science fiction, so did the prospect of heart transplantation between two humans, not that long ago.
January 15, 2019
3.5 stars
Books by doctors who wield scalpels are some of my favorites, and Mezrich does a great job introducing the reader to the history and current practice of transplant surgery.
The good:
- This is not a comprehensive history of transplantation, nor a memoir, nor a collection of patient stories. It's equal parts of each, allowing us to get an overview of the field in a personal, relatable way.
- Transplant surgery is amazing, and Mezrich obviously loves his job and sharing that wonder and excitement with us. It's almost like he's going, 'Look! Isn't this cool?' And it is.
- The pioneers of the field, like most doctors in the 1960s and 70s, were men, so I appreciate that he takes the time to acknowledge a woman who is leading the field today and has some bad ass stories of her own.
- The pacing is good and the switches between history, patient stories, and his training are well done. I never thought, 'go back!' or, 'ugh, history again'. It all fits together.
- Mezrich doesn't shy away from ethical issues. Some of the first donors didn't give consent, exactly, and organs were taken from people who died in prison as a matter of course. When the field was first getting established there wasn't even an accepted definition of brain death. Not all the controversy is in the past - do you give a new liver to an alcoholic? How much risk do you let a living donor take on in order to save their spouse?
- Overall the tone is upbeat. He doesn't tear our hearts out or leave us in suspense about the outcome of a case, which I appreciate. My eyes did leak a bit while reading the chapter about donors because the details are beautiful and touching. For example, before starting the operation to procure organs the doctors, nurses, ICU team, and other staff that took care of the patient will pause and say something about the donor. Often they'll read a poem or express thoughts from the family, and many will have tears in their eyes as they start.
- There are no spiels about how everyone should donate their kidneys or anything like that. He accepts organs as they come, and always with a sense of gratitude and respect for the donors.
- The author seems like a nice guy which is saying a lot, because there are bunches of surgeons who write books that don't seem like nice guys. He acknowledges the rest of his team and thanks them often, as well as share funny, self-deprecating stories.
The not-so-good:
- As much as I enjoyed this book (a lot!) I'm not sure it will stick with me. It's missing that ineffable something that screams four star read.
If you like books about medicine, look forward to the Wellcome Prize longlist, or are just curious about transplantation, you'll want to pick up Death Becomes Life.
Thanks to Harper and Edelweiss for providing a review copy.
Books by doctors who wield scalpels are some of my favorites, and Mezrich does a great job introducing the reader to the history and current practice of transplant surgery.
The good:
- This is not a comprehensive history of transplantation, nor a memoir, nor a collection of patient stories. It's equal parts of each, allowing us to get an overview of the field in a personal, relatable way.
- Transplant surgery is amazing, and Mezrich obviously loves his job and sharing that wonder and excitement with us. It's almost like he's going, 'Look! Isn't this cool?' And it is.
- The pioneers of the field, like most doctors in the 1960s and 70s, were men, so I appreciate that he takes the time to acknowledge a woman who is leading the field today and has some bad ass stories of her own.
- The pacing is good and the switches between history, patient stories, and his training are well done. I never thought, 'go back!' or, 'ugh, history again'. It all fits together.
- Mezrich doesn't shy away from ethical issues. Some of the first donors didn't give consent, exactly, and organs were taken from people who died in prison as a matter of course. When the field was first getting established there wasn't even an accepted definition of brain death. Not all the controversy is in the past - do you give a new liver to an alcoholic? How much risk do you let a living donor take on in order to save their spouse?
- Overall the tone is upbeat. He doesn't tear our hearts out or leave us in suspense about the outcome of a case, which I appreciate. My eyes did leak a bit while reading the chapter about donors because the details are beautiful and touching. For example, before starting the operation to procure organs the doctors, nurses, ICU team, and other staff that took care of the patient will pause and say something about the donor. Often they'll read a poem or express thoughts from the family, and many will have tears in their eyes as they start.
- There are no spiels about how everyone should donate their kidneys or anything like that. He accepts organs as they come, and always with a sense of gratitude and respect for the donors.
- The author seems like a nice guy which is saying a lot, because there are bunches of surgeons who write books that don't seem like nice guys. He acknowledges the rest of his team and thanks them often, as well as share funny, self-deprecating stories.
The not-so-good:
- As much as I enjoyed this book (a lot!) I'm not sure it will stick with me. It's missing that ineffable something that screams four star read.
If you like books about medicine, look forward to the Wellcome Prize longlist, or are just curious about transplantation, you'll want to pick up Death Becomes Life.
Thanks to Harper and Edelweiss for providing a review copy.
October 28, 2020
Ця неймовірна книга стільки часу тримається на вершинах різних рейтингів і ТОПів, що не видати її в Україні було б величезною помилкою. І такою ж помилкою буде не прочитати її (це я апелюю до тих, для кого Мезріч — ще не відкрите ім’я).
Автор — відомий у США лікар-трансплантолог із величезним досвідом, про який він, власне, й оповідає у своїй книзі. Проте просто читати про численні операції було б, погодьтеся, не надто й цікаво, особливо коли ви не маєте жодного відношення до хірургії (хаба що як пацієнт). Однак не хвилюйтеся: книга — це ціла й цілісна історія трансплантології, від найперших і невдалих спроб до сучасних проривів у цій непростій галузі медицини.
Читаючи, я повсякчас міркувала: це ж наскільки відважним потрібно бути, щоб стати на стежку, якою не лише ще ніхто у світі не ходив, а й торувати її наперекір заборонам, суспільному осуду й релігійним догмам! Часто ті, хто це робив, платили за свої спроби репутацією, своїм підірваним здоров’ям і — головне — життями тих людей, котрих понад усе хотіли врятувати.
Мезріч — один із таких героїв. Йому, звісно, пощастило — він почав займатися трансплантологією вже тоді, коли ці операції стали якщо й не повністю рутинними, то хоча б зрозумілими й уже звичними як для медиків, так і для пацієнтів. Проте насправді все не так просто й нині — людей, котрі потребують пересадки тих чи інших органів, багато, а от трансплантатів — мало. Тому й підіймає автор такі важливі саме на сьогодні питання, як етичність забору органів у людей, які ще дихають, а відтак живуть; у донорів, котрі не вияивли за життя бажання ними бути; вирощування штучних органів і тварин для їх забору (а це теоретично можна робити, використовуючи в якості донорів приматів та свиней). Цілий розділ присвячений етичній проблеми вибору між реципієнтами, адже, обираючи одного, ти свідомо підписуєш смертний вироку іншому... А ще в книзі багато настільки детальних описів оперативних втручань, що я знову, як у юності, захотіла стати лікарем. Не судилося. Однак наразі я із задоволенням читаю книги, написані лікарями, й можу разом із ними проживати частинку їхніх героїчних життів.
Автор — відомий у США лікар-трансплантолог із величезним досвідом, про який він, власне, й оповідає у своїй книзі. Проте просто читати про численні операції було б, погодьтеся, не надто й цікаво, особливо коли ви не маєте жодного відношення до хірургії (хаба що як пацієнт). Однак не хвилюйтеся: книга — це ціла й цілісна історія трансплантології, від найперших і невдалих спроб до сучасних проривів у цій непростій галузі медицини.
Читаючи, я повсякчас міркувала: це ж наскільки відважним потрібно бути, щоб стати на стежку, якою не лише ще ніхто у світі не ходив, а й торувати її наперекір заборонам, суспільному осуду й релігійним догмам! Часто ті, хто це робив, платили за свої спроби репутацією, своїм підірваним здоров’ям і — головне — життями тих людей, котрих понад усе хотіли врятувати.
Мезріч — один із таких героїв. Йому, звісно, пощастило — він почав займатися трансплантологією вже тоді, коли ці операції стали якщо й не повністю рутинними, то хоча б зрозумілими й уже звичними як для медиків, так і для пацієнтів. Проте насправді все не так просто й нині — людей, котрі потребують пересадки тих чи інших органів, багато, а от трансплантатів — мало. Тому й підіймає автор такі важливі саме на сьогодні питання, як етичність забору органів у людей, які ще дихають, а відтак живуть; у донорів, котрі не вияивли за життя бажання ними бути; вирощування штучних органів і тварин для їх забору (а це теоретично можна робити, використовуючи в якості донорів приматів та свиней). Цілий розділ присвячений етичній проблеми вибору між реципієнтами, адже, обираючи одного, ти свідомо підписуєш смертний вироку іншому... А ще в книзі багато настільки детальних описів оперативних втручань, що я знову, як у юності, захотіла стати лікарем. Не судилося. Однак наразі я із задоволенням читаю книги, написані лікарями, й можу разом із ними проживати частинку їхніх героїчних життів.
March 4, 2020
Book blurbs often suck, but this one is dead on. Read it. Set your expectations by it & then be prepared to be blown away. By combining the history of organ transplantation with an autobiography & biographical information from his patients, Mezrich made this come alive, complete with victories, failures, & warts. Highly recommended in any format. Well written & narrated.
Organ transplantation didn't really become a decent option until the 1980s, but plenty were done before then gaining the recipients a few more days of life at tremendous expense. Even today, it's a chancy business, but he shows why so many opt for it & it makes sense.
He's a surgeon & he's made mistakes, some pretty bad. What he had to go through to become a surgeon & the hours he keeps are horrific. The length, complexity, & scheduling of operations were mind boggling. I couldn't do it.
The ethics behind organ donation were fascinating. I vaguely recall all the furor when brain death became law in the late 60s. I had no idea how much was riding on it.
If you aren't an organ donor now, this might make you one. Discuss this with your family & fill out the correct forms. They vary by country & state, but appointing a Health Care Proxy & filing an Advance Healthcare Directive (Living Will) which may include a clause or a separate form for a DNR, Do Not Resuscitate is required today. (You might want to read the last link to see just how often CPR actually works & what the outcomes are.)
Few bodies can be donors, so I've also signed up with the Anatomy Board to donate whatever is left to science. They'll return ashes in about 6 months. Not only is that cheaper than paying for cremation, but some good will come from my corpse. I highly recommend Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. Mary Roach has a great sense of humor & manages to treat this subject really well.
Table of Contents
Note from the Author
Milestones in Transplantation
Part I: Out of Body
1: A Perfect Organ
2: Puzzle People
Part II: The Making of a Transplant Surgeon
3: The Simple Beauty of the Kidney
4: Skin Harvest
5: Kidney Beans
Part III: Expanding the Horizon Beyond the Simplicity of the Kidney
6: Open Heart
7: Hearts on Fire
8: Sympathy for the Pancreas
9: Prometheus Revisited
Part IV: The Patients
10: Jason
11: Lisa and Herb
12: Nate
13: Michaela
Part V: The Donors
14: As They Lay Dying
15: Healthy Donors
Part VI: Today and Beyond
16: Complications
17: Xenotransplantation
18: So, You Want to Be a Transplant Surgeon?
Acknowledgments
Selected Bibliography
Notes
Organ transplantation didn't really become a decent option until the 1980s, but plenty were done before then gaining the recipients a few more days of life at tremendous expense. Even today, it's a chancy business, but he shows why so many opt for it & it makes sense.
He's a surgeon & he's made mistakes, some pretty bad. What he had to go through to become a surgeon & the hours he keeps are horrific. The length, complexity, & scheduling of operations were mind boggling. I couldn't do it.
The ethics behind organ donation were fascinating. I vaguely recall all the furor when brain death became law in the late 60s. I had no idea how much was riding on it.
If you aren't an organ donor now, this might make you one. Discuss this with your family & fill out the correct forms. They vary by country & state, but appointing a Health Care Proxy & filing an Advance Healthcare Directive (Living Will) which may include a clause or a separate form for a DNR, Do Not Resuscitate is required today. (You might want to read the last link to see just how often CPR actually works & what the outcomes are.)
Few bodies can be donors, so I've also signed up with the Anatomy Board to donate whatever is left to science. They'll return ashes in about 6 months. Not only is that cheaper than paying for cremation, but some good will come from my corpse. I highly recommend Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. Mary Roach has a great sense of humor & manages to treat this subject really well.
Table of Contents
Note from the Author
Milestones in Transplantation
Part I: Out of Body
1: A Perfect Organ
2: Puzzle People
Part II: The Making of a Transplant Surgeon
3: The Simple Beauty of the Kidney
4: Skin Harvest
5: Kidney Beans
Part III: Expanding the Horizon Beyond the Simplicity of the Kidney
6: Open Heart
7: Hearts on Fire
8: Sympathy for the Pancreas
9: Prometheus Revisited
Part IV: The Patients
10: Jason
11: Lisa and Herb
12: Nate
13: Michaela
Part V: The Donors
14: As They Lay Dying
15: Healthy Donors
Part VI: Today and Beyond
16: Complications
17: Xenotransplantation
18: So, You Want to Be a Transplant Surgeon?
Acknowledgments
Selected Bibliography
Notes
February 6, 2019
In this debut memoir a surgeon surveys the history of organ transplantation, recalling his own medical education and the special patients he’s met along the way. In the 1940s and 1950s patient after patient was lost to rejection of the transplanted organ, post-surgery infection, or hemorrhaging. Mezrich marvels at how few decades passed between transplantation seeming like something out of a science-fiction future and becoming a commonplace procedure. His aim is to never lose his sense of wonder at the life-saving possibilities of organ donation, and he conveys that awe to readers through his descriptions of a typical procedure. One day I will likely need a donated kidney to save my life. How grateful I am to live at a time when this is a possibility.
See my full review at BookBrowse. (See also my list of other books, fiction and non-, featuring organ donation.)
See my full review at BookBrowse. (See also my list of other books, fiction and non-, featuring organ donation.)
February 9, 2025
Rating: 3.5 stars
Mezrich is a transplant surgeon. In this book, he examines the remarkable medical breakthroughs that lead to successful organ transplants, the ethics involved, and progress in the field, and then connecting this history with the stories of his own patients and experiences. I found the book and subject interesting and well written, but I wished for more details. I also found the numbers of animals sacrificed to research rather depressing
Mezrich is a transplant surgeon. In this book, he examines the remarkable medical breakthroughs that lead to successful organ transplants, the ethics involved, and progress in the field, and then connecting this history with the stories of his own patients and experiences. I found the book and subject interesting and well written, but I wished for more details. I also found the numbers of animals sacrificed to research rather depressing
November 22, 2021
เล่มนี้จัดว่า amazing มาก
หนังสือเล่มนี้เขียนโดยหมอผ่าตัดปลูกถ่ายอวัยวะ ที่นำเอาเรื่องราวของการผ่าตัดปลูกถ่ายอวัยวะ ไม่ว่าจะเป็นแง่มุมของ evolution ของการผ่าตัด, เกร็ดประวัติศาสตร์ที่เกี่ยวข้อง, เรื่องราวเชิงเทคนิคของการปลูกถ่ายอวัยวะ (ที่ลงรายละเอียดมาก), มุมมองของผู้ที่รอรับการปลูกถ่าย และที่ชอบมากเป็นพิเศษ คือมุมมองของฝั่งญาติผู้บริจาค
ผมคิดว่าหนังสือเล่มนี้เป็นหนังสือที่ค่อนข้างจะเจาะจงเฉพาะกลุ่มพอสมควร
แน่นอนว่า ใครๆ ก็อ่านได้ แต่ถ้าเป็นคนที่มีความเกี่ยวข้องกับการปลูกถ่ายอวัยวะในแง่มุมใดแง่มุมหนึ่ง มันจะ connect มากๆ
ผมชอบ part ที่เกี่ยวข้องกับผู้บริจาค (donor and relatives)
โดยปกติเรามักจะไป focus ที่ผู้รับ (recipient)
แต่ผู้เขียนนำเรื่องราว อารมณ์ใจคอของฝั่งผู้ให้ ทั้งความคิด ความฝัน และความตั้งใจในการให้อวัยวะของคนที่เค้ารัก ไปมีประโยชน์ต่อคนอื่น ถ่ายทอดออกมาได้ลึกซึ้งกินใจ
PS
- ในต่างประเทศ มี meeting ของ recipient กับ donors' relatives ด้วยนะ
หนังสือเล่มนี้เขียนโดยหมอผ่าตัดปลูกถ่ายอวัยวะ ที่นำเอาเรื่องราวของการผ่าตัดปลูกถ่ายอวัยวะ ไม่ว่าจะเป็นแง่มุมของ evolution ของการผ่าตัด, เกร็ดประวัติศาสตร์ที่เกี่ยวข้อง, เรื่องราวเชิงเทคนิคของการปลูกถ่ายอวัยวะ (ที่ลงรายละเอียดมาก), มุมมองของผู้ที่รอรับการปลูกถ่าย และที่ชอบมากเป็นพิเศษ คือมุมมองของฝั่งญาติผู้บริจาค
ผมคิดว่าหนังสือเล่มนี้เป็นหนังสือที่ค่อนข้างจะเจาะจงเฉพาะกลุ่มพอสมควร
แน่นอนว่า ใครๆ ก็อ่านได้ แต่ถ้าเป็นคนที่มีความเกี่ยวข้องกับการปลูกถ่ายอวัยวะในแง่มุมใดแง่มุมหนึ่ง มันจะ connect มากๆ
ผมชอบ part ที่เกี่ยวข้องกับผู้บริจาค (donor and relatives)
โดยปกติเรามักจะไป focus ที่ผู้รับ (recipient)
แต่ผู้เขียนนำเรื่องราว อารมณ์ใจคอของฝั่งผู้ให้ ทั้งความคิด ความฝัน และความตั้งใจในการให้อวัยวะของคนที่เค้ารัก ไปมีประโยชน์ต่อคนอื่น ถ่ายทอดออกมาได้ลึกซึ้งกินใจ
PS
- ในต่างประเทศ มี meeting ของ recipient กับ donors' relatives ด้วยนะ
December 25, 2025
I LOVED THIS BOOK. A very raw memoir of a surgeon… and I remembered again how beautiful and fragile life truly is… that all these organs, all this blood and all these bones come together with God’s permission to form a human being who feels, who breathes, who exists.
January 15, 2019
Big thanks to Harper Books for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
I LOVED this book and I will definitely be thinking about it for a long time! I am in the medical field and I love reading about anything medical, from healthcare provider's experiences to any past history regarding the field. When I saw this book was coming out, I was extremely excited and had to get my hands on a copy! I love learning new things through books and I didn't know that much about surgery before reading this one. But man did I learn a lot! Dr. Mezrich gave so much history about the first heart/liver/lung/pancreas transplants and it was so interesting! It definitely felt drier at times since the material is pretty dense, but it was very interesting and informative. The history made me reflect on the way that the medical field has changed so much over the years, and it was so crazy to read about the first procedures and about these courageous surgeons! So much new medical information has been gained from these doctors in the past and it is incredible what they started many years ago. I wish they could see how things have changed now and how much of an impact they have made in the field today. I loved having these stories interspersed with Dr. Mezrich's experiences throughout the book. I definitely skimmed some of the history and looked more forward to his personal experiences throughout, but I love that he really delved into the past so you could get a better picture about how everything got started.
My favorite sections of the book were his interactions with all of the different patients! I loved reading about how grateful and excited pancreas patients are about getting these new organs. I loved how he dove deeper into this information since so many people have diabetes today, and I run into so many people through rescue and in the hospitals with diabetes. I loved reading about the ethical dilemmas about alcoholics receiving new livers and learned so much through these chapters. It made me reflect on patients that I have seen in the past and how there still need to be some changes made to really help these people overcome these addictions - more than just putting a bandaid on the problem with a new organ as he put it in the book. There was so much hope filled throughout these pages with people getting new organs and the new life they get to experience because of it. I also loved that he loves surgery because he says he is able to develop lifelong relationships with these patients. This is something I am excited to do hopefully one day as a Physician Assistant.
I LOVED this book but couldn't get it 5 stars because multiple times the title Physician Assistant was misused, which is a bit problem of mine since this is my future profession. This is just a minor issue but something that is big to me and I bet lots of other PAs out there.
HIGHLY recommend this book if you are interested in the medical field and learning new things about surgery! Also if you love stories filled with hope and new beginnings. I think this book will make you reflect on your life and maybe some of the people that have impacted you in many important ways.
I LOVED this book and I will definitely be thinking about it for a long time! I am in the medical field and I love reading about anything medical, from healthcare provider's experiences to any past history regarding the field. When I saw this book was coming out, I was extremely excited and had to get my hands on a copy! I love learning new things through books and I didn't know that much about surgery before reading this one. But man did I learn a lot! Dr. Mezrich gave so much history about the first heart/liver/lung/pancreas transplants and it was so interesting! It definitely felt drier at times since the material is pretty dense, but it was very interesting and informative. The history made me reflect on the way that the medical field has changed so much over the years, and it was so crazy to read about the first procedures and about these courageous surgeons! So much new medical information has been gained from these doctors in the past and it is incredible what they started many years ago. I wish they could see how things have changed now and how much of an impact they have made in the field today. I loved having these stories interspersed with Dr. Mezrich's experiences throughout the book. I definitely skimmed some of the history and looked more forward to his personal experiences throughout, but I love that he really delved into the past so you could get a better picture about how everything got started.
My favorite sections of the book were his interactions with all of the different patients! I loved reading about how grateful and excited pancreas patients are about getting these new organs. I loved how he dove deeper into this information since so many people have diabetes today, and I run into so many people through rescue and in the hospitals with diabetes. I loved reading about the ethical dilemmas about alcoholics receiving new livers and learned so much through these chapters. It made me reflect on patients that I have seen in the past and how there still need to be some changes made to really help these people overcome these addictions - more than just putting a bandaid on the problem with a new organ as he put it in the book. There was so much hope filled throughout these pages with people getting new organs and the new life they get to experience because of it. I also loved that he loves surgery because he says he is able to develop lifelong relationships with these patients. This is something I am excited to do hopefully one day as a Physician Assistant.
I LOVED this book but couldn't get it 5 stars because multiple times the title Physician Assistant was misused, which is a bit problem of mine since this is my future profession. This is just a minor issue but something that is big to me and I bet lots of other PAs out there.
HIGHLY recommend this book if you are interested in the medical field and learning new things about surgery! Also if you love stories filled with hope and new beginnings. I think this book will make you reflect on your life and maybe some of the people that have impacted you in many important ways.
June 12, 2019
Brilliant and awe inspiring; I couldn’t put this part memoir part transplant history book down. The author is a renowned surgeon specialising in the field of life saving transplants, primarily livers and kidneys. He describes in great detail the complexities of the actual operations and does not neglect to draw focus onto issues such as consent, ethical dilemmas and human error within the surgical field.
As a nurse, this book intrigued and fascinated me all together. The author details cases of surgeries that have gone well, inspiring patients and their donors, as well as the times when things have gone wrong.
It was also particularly interesting to learn about the history of transplant, something I hadn’t given much consideration to before now. This book has re-emphasised the importance of organ donation and what a beautiful gift it is. Anyone who for whatever reason is unsure of their stance on the subject should read this book.
As a nurse, this book intrigued and fascinated me all together. The author details cases of surgeries that have gone well, inspiring patients and their donors, as well as the times when things have gone wrong.
It was also particularly interesting to learn about the history of transplant, something I hadn’t given much consideration to before now. This book has re-emphasised the importance of organ donation and what a beautiful gift it is. Anyone who for whatever reason is unsure of their stance on the subject should read this book.
January 27, 2019
To give is to receive...I did and this one thing I know!
This book describes in detail the heroes (and their stories)who blazed the trail of transplantation. Being a donor and having a healthy husband is my reward. Thanks Josh for your part in making this a reality to our family. This book helps me understand so much better what went on at UW Hospital-Madison May 23rd, 2012. I’m forever grateful.
This book describes in detail the heroes (and their stories)who blazed the trail of transplantation. Being a donor and having a healthy husband is my reward. Thanks Josh for your part in making this a reality to our family. This book helps me understand so much better what went on at UW Hospital-Madison May 23rd, 2012. I’m forever grateful.
October 3, 2025
Physician Joshua D. Mezrich creates life from loss every time he enters the hospital. In this book, he takes the reader on a journey through the history of organ transplantation — from early beginnings when the thought was considered impossible to the present day where many organ systems can be transplanted. Broken into six sections, he walks the reader through (1) and introduction to transplantation, (2) the history of the science and the first kidney procedures, (3) expansions beyond the “simple” kidney, (4) provides us with four real patient cases, (5) highlights the sacrifice and gift donors and donor families make, (6) addresses the future and ethical dilemmas — such as xenotransplantation.
This is a well researched book that spans the development of organ donation procedures across a wide range of organ systems. It also is organized nicely into six parts, each with a specific theme making it easier to thread all the different aspects of the history together. What makes this accessible to a general reader is that this isn’t just a historical development, it’s also part memoir of Mezrich’s training and how he came into transplant having originally not thought about this field.
My rating doesn’t reflect anything wrong with the book, as it was quite good and very thorough. Instead, I just wish there was more to this book and that’s why I’ve given it a 3.5 (rounded to 4 for Goodreads) instead of something higher. In particular, I wish there was a stronger argumentative push for becoming an organ donor. The system desperately needs more organs, and while there was an entire section on donation I wish the urgency and argumentative force was threaded throughout — especially because this is a successful public-level book on the topic.
This is a well researched book that spans the development of organ donation procedures across a wide range of organ systems. It also is organized nicely into six parts, each with a specific theme making it easier to thread all the different aspects of the history together. What makes this accessible to a general reader is that this isn’t just a historical development, it’s also part memoir of Mezrich’s training and how he came into transplant having originally not thought about this field.
My rating doesn’t reflect anything wrong with the book, as it was quite good and very thorough. Instead, I just wish there was more to this book and that’s why I’ve given it a 3.5 (rounded to 4 for Goodreads) instead of something higher. In particular, I wish there was a stronger argumentative push for becoming an organ donor. The system desperately needs more organs, and while there was an entire section on donation I wish the urgency and argumentative force was threaded throughout — especially because this is a successful public-level book on the topic.
January 12, 2021
Кілька десятків років тому зміст цієї книги шокувало б будь-яку людину на планеті. Пересадка нирок, серця, легенів, печінки - фантастика для хірургів і вчених того часу. Всі ці операції стали можливими завдяки сміливості, таланту і ретельності десятків видатних хірургів; деякі з них виділяються особливо - в книзі автор лаконічно розповідає історію кожного з них. Крім "короткої історії трансплантології" книга сповнена прикладів, які занурюють в реальність того, що відбувається.
У книзі вразило усвідомлення стрімких успіхів людини в боротьбі зі смертю. Саме зі смертю, а не з дискомфортом або хворобами. Трансплантологи - це не просто лікарі. Це люди, які обманюють смерть і виграють час для людей. Хоча трансплантація застосовується і в інших цілях, рушійною силою стало бажання врятувати безнадійних пацієнтів.
Це дивовижно. Особисто я раніше не замислювався про те, що з себе представляє процес забору органів (або як автор воліє говорити "отримання органів"). Читаючи книгу, дізнаєшся нове не тільки про трансплантологію, а й про самого себе. Автор в подробицях описав фізіологічні особливості людини, будова і функції внутрішніх органів, їх можливі захворювання і збої в роботі. Також замислюєшся про моральні аспекти пересадки органів, намагаєшся визначитися з відповіддю на питання: "чи я хочу теж стати донором?"
З недоліків. Автор даремно не торкнувся теми пересадки інших частин тіла: наприклад, голови. Цікаво було дізнатися про невдалий досвід у подібних експериментах на тваринах, проблеми, і можливі перспективи в майбутньому.
Не вистачило ілюстрацій або хоча б посилань на зрозумілі схеми. Ще збентежило, що, незважаючи на багаторазові приклади конкретних життєвих історій, слова автора про смерть до кінця прочитання стали сприйматися чимось буденним. Пара абзаців, присвячених пацієнтові, можуть закінчитися сухим "але, на жаль, через 8 днів він помер". Це скоріше не недолік, а спостереження.
Якщо підсумувати: книга вкрай цікава до прочитання кожному. Допомагає сформувати ставлення до цієї важливої науки і усвідомити рівень розвитку медицини сьогодні.
У книзі вразило усвідомлення стрімких успіхів людини в боротьбі зі смертю. Саме зі смертю, а не з дискомфортом або хворобами. Трансплантологи - це не просто лікарі. Це люди, які обманюють смерть і виграють час для людей. Хоча трансплантація застосовується і в інших цілях, рушійною силою стало бажання врятувати безнадійних пацієнтів.
Це дивовижно. Особисто я раніше не замислювався про те, що з себе представляє процес забору органів (або як автор воліє говорити "отримання органів"). Читаючи книгу, дізнаєшся нове не тільки про трансплантологію, а й про самого себе. Автор в подробицях описав фізіологічні особливості людини, будова і функції внутрішніх органів, їх можливі захворювання і збої в роботі. Також замислюєшся про моральні аспекти пересадки органів, намагаєшся визначитися з відповіддю на питання: "чи я хочу теж стати донором?"
З недоліків. Автор даремно не торкнувся теми пересадки інших частин тіла: наприклад, голови. Цікаво було дізнатися про невдалий досвід у подібних експериментах на тваринах, проблеми, і можливі перспективи в майбутньому.
Не вистачило ілюстрацій або хоча б посилань на зрозумілі схеми. Ще збентежило, що, незважаючи на багаторазові приклади конкретних життєвих історій, слова автора про смерть до кінця прочитання стали сприйматися чимось буденним. Пара абзаців, присвячених пацієнтові, можуть закінчитися сухим "але, на жаль, через 8 днів він помер". Це скоріше не недолік, а спостереження.
Якщо підсумувати: книга вкрай цікава до прочитання кожному. Допомагає сформувати ставлення до цієї важливої науки і усвідомити рівень розвитку медицини сьогодні.
January 29, 2019
Thanks to BookShout for letting me read this book!
In order to fully appreciate this book, one needs to take anatomy and a medical terminology class. Or google everything they don’t understand and take forever reading this.
It also could use pictures to demonstrate what he’s talking about with crossing or connecting the veins and arteries and where people have put kidneys in the past, etc.
There are also a lotttt of historical figures whom I’ve never heard of before to keep track. I need a timeline. I understand the need to appreciate medical marvels throughout time but I didn’t know that’s what I was getting when I picked up this book.
I would’ve enjoyed this more if it was only the author’s experiences without the history and anatomy lessons. Does the average reader really need this much surgical detail? To whom is this book targeted? Med students and residents only?
In order to fully appreciate this book, one needs to take anatomy and a medical terminology class. Or google everything they don’t understand and take forever reading this.
It also could use pictures to demonstrate what he’s talking about with crossing or connecting the veins and arteries and where people have put kidneys in the past, etc.
There are also a lotttt of historical figures whom I’ve never heard of before to keep track. I need a timeline. I understand the need to appreciate medical marvels throughout time but I didn’t know that’s what I was getting when I picked up this book.
I would’ve enjoyed this more if it was only the author’s experiences without the history and anatomy lessons. Does the average reader really need this much surgical detail? To whom is this book targeted? Med students and residents only?
April 28, 2019
This was so cool. I love books about medicine and doctors and often find them pretty enjoyable. But THIS was humorous and interesting and obviously well-researched.
October 1, 2023
"When Death Become Life" is one of those books where you're reading a memoir, even though the author claims it isn't one, that's paced and reads almost like a novel - which it most definitely isn't - and conveys knowledge like a history of transplant surgery, which, once again, the author humbly says it isn't. You don't want it to be, but it's over before you know it, and you're left with a feeling of "huh, who knew!?"
It's candid, incredibly interesting, surprising, and both kinda terrifying and appalling. It provides both a personal and emotional connection to the subject, and a pretty extensive history of transplant surgery. In short, it's a fantastically executed book that should provide plenty of enjoyment for the laymanest of laymen and lovers of medical history both. Honestly, there's plenty of juiciness to sink your true-crime teeth into as well (possibly even gory horror if you're a bit queasy).
Mezrieh mixes his own personal journey and experiences with the historical development of his field. He's open and honest in an admiral way, sharing both successes and failures (which, in his case means times when he, in his own words, "killed" a patient). The book is written in an easy and approachable language and style that only makes it feel more real.
I really liked the book. The only real criticism I have pertains to the author's obvious and stated admiration of the transplant pioneers who's work he covers in the book. I wish he would have dealt a bit more with the ethical shortcuts - that sometimes equated to, essentially, "fuck ethics" - some of them took. Instead, he barely acknowledge this amid all the admiration and how they "dared to succeed." Until, with two sentences towards the back of the book, he sort of skimmed over it with a (slightly paraphrased) "yeah, that wouldn't have been allowed today." It left a bit of a sour aftertaste of an otherwise really good book.
Highly recommended.
It's candid, incredibly interesting, surprising, and both kinda terrifying and appalling. It provides both a personal and emotional connection to the subject, and a pretty extensive history of transplant surgery. In short, it's a fantastically executed book that should provide plenty of enjoyment for the laymanest of laymen and lovers of medical history both. Honestly, there's plenty of juiciness to sink your true-crime teeth into as well (possibly even gory horror if you're a bit queasy).
Mezrieh mixes his own personal journey and experiences with the historical development of his field. He's open and honest in an admiral way, sharing both successes and failures (which, in his case means times when he, in his own words, "killed" a patient). The book is written in an easy and approachable language and style that only makes it feel more real.
I really liked the book. The only real criticism I have pertains to the author's obvious and stated admiration of the transplant pioneers who's work he covers in the book. I wish he would have dealt a bit more with the ethical shortcuts - that sometimes equated to, essentially, "fuck ethics" - some of them took. Instead, he barely acknowledge this amid all the admiration and how they "dared to succeed." Until, with two sentences towards the back of the book, he sort of skimmed over it with a (slightly paraphrased) "yeah, that wouldn't have been allowed today." It left a bit of a sour aftertaste of an otherwise really good book.
Highly recommended.
March 10, 2024
Liked the content, loved the patient stories. Struggled a smidge to stay focused while reading though
August 17, 2023
Transplant history present and future
October 26, 2023
When Death Becomes Life is an interesting memoir and history of organ transplantation from transplant surgeon Dr. Joshua Mezrich. While I enjoyed his writing about the history, researchers and physicians that brought us to this point in time with transplantations, I enjoyed his writing about his own background, how and why he became a transplant surgeon, and his own patients just as much or more. Dr. Mezrich always maintains an awareness and respect for the great gift that donors and their families are giving, and reminds readers of that often. I loved reading about the technical details of kidney transplants, but Dr. Mezrich also reminds the readers that even though it may be an almost-routine procedure, it is really never routine. He recounts his enthusiasm at seeing a kidney become pink with blood flow and begin producing urine, and also writes about heart, lung, liver, and pancreas transplants, and the inherent difficulties with them. I thoroughly enjoyed the chapter about how cyclosporine was discovered and what a huge difference it made in transplantations. After all, transplantation is as much about immunology as it is about surgical skill, and Dr. Mezrich recounts all of this in his thoroughly enjoyable book.
January 28, 2019
2.5 This is a decent medical book but after the glorious writing in Emperor of Maladies it is somewhat deficient. For instance, the writer delineates a certain operation but I have no idea to which the author references. Diagrams, analogies, pictures, even a YouTube link would have been of much use but I am left to wonder as medical jargon abounds without any layperson reference.
Furthermore, the writing is somewhat insipid in that the pioneers of transplantation are limited to severe exposition without much life given to them. I appreciated the passages where the author has done so but they remain few and far between.
Example of a surgical passage:
I placed a side-biter clamp on Tito’s cava down below the liver. I cut a hole in his cava above my clamp and proceeded to sew the donor infrahepatic cava to the recipient cava. This took about ten minutes. We opened the clamps and there was flow through it. Then I grabbed a vascular stapler and fired it across the upper cuff. Most of the surgical bleeding from the cava stopped. Success. We basically rerouted blood, so that rather than flow through the donor liver and out the top, the blood flowed through the liver and went out the bottom, still into the recipient cava.
Furthermore, the writing is somewhat insipid in that the pioneers of transplantation are limited to severe exposition without much life given to them. I appreciated the passages where the author has done so but they remain few and far between.
Example of a surgical passage:
I placed a side-biter clamp on Tito’s cava down below the liver. I cut a hole in his cava above my clamp and proceeded to sew the donor infrahepatic cava to the recipient cava. This took about ten minutes. We opened the clamps and there was flow through it. Then I grabbed a vascular stapler and fired it across the upper cuff. Most of the surgical bleeding from the cava stopped. Success. We basically rerouted blood, so that rather than flow through the donor liver and out the top, the blood flowed through the liver and went out the bottom, still into the recipient cava.
April 9, 2019
It's almost a relief to read a book like this and realize that medical authors like Atul Gawande and Siddartha Mukherjee are the exception. Mezrich writes like you'd expect someone from a science background to write - not always elegantly, but always straight to the point. As a whole, I enjoyed the book, but Mezrich is much better at writing about the history of transplant surgery than his personal life. The transitions weren't always the best, and the writing became significantly choppier when he was narrating his own experiences (although I loved the cavalier, gunslinger attitude he had when describing his cases because he didn't pretend to be the mythically refined doctor that seems to be the new literary norm). But the whole book is compulsively readable, and I appreciate that Mezrich put in an effort to discuss some morality debates surrounding transplants (like who gets organs) and his predictions for where the field was heading, based off of current research.
I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the historical development of transplant surgery and what it's like to be practicing today.
I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the historical development of transplant surgery and what it's like to be practicing today.
January 27, 2019
This was an interesting book. I thought reading it would make me less nervous about having transplant surgery. It didn’t help. I learned all about the history of transplant for kidneys, livers, pancreas, heart and lungs. I also learned about immunosuppressant drugs and how organs are procured for transplant. All of this from a transplant surgeon’s point of view.
Jerry had listened to NPR and Dr. Joshua D. Mezrich was a feature story his life as a transplant surgeon.
This was how o came across this book.
Jerry had listened to NPR and Dr. Joshua D. Mezrich was a feature story his life as a transplant surgeon.
This was how o came across this book.
July 20, 2021
I have a soft spot for medical literature. I have binge-watched all 333 series of E.R., I’ve read Erich Segal’s Doctors 5 times and a bunch of other books written by doctors. This is a non-fiction book on a specific medical subject, but it’s written in an action-novel-like style which masterfully combines history of the field and personal stories of many patients in a way it makes this book a page-turner. Author is not only a skillful surgeon, but a great writer as well. Also remembered proudly I signed my organ donor card already years ago.
June 18, 2019
This was an amazing book. It was very much in the same vein as The Emperor of all Maladies. Mezrich writes a history of organ transplantation intertwined with personal anecdotes and stories from his career as a transplant surgeon. It was thoroughly interesting, moving, and eye-opening. I recommended it to my amazing mother who recently donated a kidney to a complete stranger and now works to connect organ donors and recipients. Her sacrifice made this book all the more engaging for me!
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