How do you want to die?

Most of us would like to have a long health-span: being highly functioning, mentally and physically active, strong robust individuals and then when it comes time to checkout, to rapidly fall apart and evaporate.

In reality, a lot people in the Westernised world work till their mid-sixties and then very slowly and painfully deteriorate with creaking joints, failing memory and senses, slowing intestines, limp genitals, winding up in the nursing home for a few years followed by the ICU for a few weeks or months, and from there on to the grave.

What if we could increase our health-span by a few decades? Not necessarily to live longer to but to post-pone the decay so that it starts later?

This is the promise of regular exercise, calorie restriction and stress management. By being physically active and eating only till we are 75%-80% full and managing stress, we can surely push back the decline. Add a little omega 3 fatty acids, Aspirin and vitamin D, and now we may be onto something! Early studies with Resveratrol ( from the peel of red grapes) are showing promise for potentially powerful benefits.

And when it comes time to check out, bidding farewell with a big bang and a smile would make for a happy ending after all!

The organ transaction

It was just a couple of a weeks ago that my friend went to sleep never to wake up again. Having died suddenly but peacefully, it was time for his wishes to be fulfilled. He had asked to be an organ donor and indicated his wishes with a little pink sticker on the back of his drivers licence. It was then that his family realised what this meant. While coping with the painful reality that he was not coming back, they also had to assign one full-time person to answer the incessant ringing of the phone from interested parties calling for his organs: everything from his eyes to his heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas; even his bones were in demand! After all, he had been a healthy, vibrant, energetic productive member of society just hours ago!
And today, I met another family whose son received a kidney-pancreas transplant 2 weeks ago. They were so pleased that after 5 years on dialysis and several false-alarm calls, they finally found a donor that miraculously "hit the spot". It was a near-perfect match and they felt like they had won the lottery! They were elated that their son did not have to be on dialysis any more!
Although I don't know if the organs their son received were ones whose original owner had been my friend or not, I could not help wonder if this transaction ( for lack of a better word) could have been a little more humane for the donor.
But then, he is the lucky one who gets to live on long after his death.