There is a moment in the operating room, after hours of surgery on a patient whose own organs have given up, when transplanted lungs start breathing, and hearts start pumping. And although he has done these surgeries hundreds and hundreds of times, that moment when someone's death means life for someone else, is always humbling.
Dr Joshua Mezrich knew he wanted to be part of that incredible exchange from the very first time he saw a transplant surgery as a medical student. He shares his experience and the stories of his patients and donors and confronts the ethical issues surrounding this lifesaving surgery in his book, When Death Becomes Life. Notes from a Transplant Surgeon.
