Bradley Parker was an internal medicine resident at Mercy West Medical Center until he had to quit due to declining health caused by ALS. When his disease had progressed, he made the decision to donate his organs after allowing cardiac death.
History
Working at Mercy West
Bradley worked at Mercy West Medical Center during his residency. He was a member of the same intern class as April Kepner, Jackson Avery, Charles Percy, and Reed Adamson. During his second year of residency at Mercy West, he was diagnosed with ALS. He continued to work until his condition deteriorated to the point where he no longer could.
Decision to Use DCD
After receiving a lap chole, Bradley was in the hospital with hematochezia, blood in the stool. He decided that he would proceed with DCD, Donation after Cardiac Death. Since he was dependent on a ventilator to stay alive, he decided to have it disconnected so his heart would stop, after which his organs would be harvested. While explaining the procedure to his mom, she asked him once again if he was sure. April came in and explained where his organs would be going, which helped his mother cope.
He was taken into the OR where his breathing tube was disconnected and his heart was allowed to stop. When it stopped, his mother began to cry and held onto him. She had to be pulled away forcibly so that the transplant could proceed.
Relationships
Familial
Bradley's parents were supportive of his choice. In the OR, after his heart stopped, his mother became distraught and had to be forcibly removed so they could proceed with the surgery to retrieve his organs.
Friendships
He got along with April Kepner. She was upset when he told her he was donating his organs. She tried to talk him out of it, but then he decided to fire her as his doctor. When she came back with the list of where his organs would be going, he knew that she understood why he was doing it and allowed her back on the case.
Career
Bradley was working on a residency in Internal Medicine at Mercy West Medical Center. He was in his second year when he was diagnosed with ALS. He continued to work as long as he could, but was ultimately forced to drop out.
Notes and Trivia
- He was 31 at the time of his death.
- One of his kidneys went to a 7 year old girl in Idaho. The other went to a 44 year old councilman in Nevada. Half of his liver went to a 50 year old artist in the same hospital and the other half went to a 10 year old in Oregon.
- He died at 6:46 PM.