Discover the truth about organ donation in this powerful new guide from IMA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Varon. Learn what brain death really means, how hospital protocols work, and why transparency matters.
Organ donation is often portrayed as a simple, noble choice. Check a box, save a life. But behind the slogans lies a more complicated truth: What if the very definition of death has quietly changed? What if the public was never fully informed?
IMA Co-Founder, President, and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Varon has written a brilliant and eye-opening guide that finally tells the full story. It’s called “Understanding Organ Donation, Transplants, and Brain Death: The Facts You Aren’t Told” and it’s a must-read for every family.
This isn’t an attack on organ donation. It’s a call for transparency. And it’s free to download.
What’s Inside the Guide?
This powerful resource strips away the comforting narratives and exposes how the transplant system really works—including the legal, medical, and ethical debates surrounding brain death.
Chapters include:
- The Gift of Organ Donation
Explains how transplants can save lives—but also why fewer than 1% of hospital deaths qualify. - The Transplant Journey
Follows an organ from donor to recipient—and uncovers shocking system failures like lost organs and ignored safety protocols. - What Is Brain Death?
Reveals how this 1968 definition replaced traditional death, and why it remains controversial. - How Doctors Test for Brain Death
A clear breakdown of each step—from pupil checks to the apnea test—and the medical risks involved. - The Controversies Around Testing
Highlights inconsistencies, legal confusion, and cases where “brain-dead” patients survived for weeks. - Medical and Ethical Questions
Challenges the “dead donor rule” and shows how families are often pressured into decisions they don’t fully understand. - Organ Shortages and the Push for Change
Examines aggressive policies like presumed consent and DCD—and why some experts warn they go too far. - Stories of Hope and Dilemmas
Balances stories of successful transplants with real-life cases that raise hard questions. - Where Do We Go from Here?
Dr. Varon lays out a reform agenda based on transparency, informed consent, accountability, and innovation.
Want to hear Dr. Varon break it down in his own words? Watch his interview on EpochTV: The Erosion of Ethics in Modern Transplant Medicine. Plus, you can read more from Dr. Varon in this piece originally published by Brownstone Institute: “The Moral Cost of Modern Transplant Medicine.”
Take a look below for an example of what you’ll find in the guide. This infographic describes the supply chain of organ donation and where it can break along the way.
Why It Matters
This guide doesn’t ask you to reject transplantation. It asks you to understand it. Organ donation should be a gift, not a marketing slogan. But that requires trust, and trust starts with truth.
Dr. Varon’s guide empowers families with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions during one of life’s most difficult moments. Whether you’re a potential donor, recipient, or just someone who checked a box at the DMV, you deserve to know what that decision really means.
Make Guides Like This Possible
This life-saving resource is available free to the public because of supporters like you. We are 100% powered by your gifts. Every donation helps us fund original research and create tools that protect patients and empower families. If you can, please support our mission to bring transparency and Honest Medicine back to health care.
