A California family is desperate for more time before a brain-dead father-of-two’s organs are harvested.
On the morning of July 7, Anthony Vallejo, from Antioch, suffered a severe asthma attack and asked his wife, Talia, to call 911.
Paramedics performed CPR on Vallejo, 30, for 15 minutes and his heart stopped beating for about 10 of those minutes, reported KTVU.
He was taken to Sutter Delta Medical Center where, after five days of monitoring, doctors declared him to be brain-dead.
Vallejo was a registered organ donor and doctors have given his family until Wednesday to say their goodbyes before they harvest them for donation.
But his wife says that because her husbands heart is ‘still beating’, she wants one extra week to see if he recovers.
Anthony Vallejo, 30, from Antioch, California, suffered an asthma attack around 10am on July 7. Pictured: Vallejo, second from right, with his wife and two sons
Paramedics performed CPR, but his heart stopped beating for about 10 minutes .Pictured: Vallejo in the hospital with his wife
According to a Facebook post written by Talia, Anthony collapsed on the ground shortly after paramedics arrived and started turning blue.
‘They had to start CPR on him as he was not breathing and continued for about fifteen minutes in my drive way before taking him to Sutter Delta ER,’ she wrote.
‘While in the ER, his heart also stopped for at least ten minutes is what I was told.
‘That ten minutes will be the most important of his life at this point. Because the lack of oxygen his brain got while they were trying to resuscitate him is what will possibly be the thing that could leave my baby brain damaged.
Vallejo was put on life support and monitored him for brain activity, in hopes he would awake.
On July 12, however, doctors declared Vallejo brain-dead, according to a follow-up Facebook post.
Hospital staff told Talia that because he is a registered organ donor that his organs need to be harvested soon.
Talia says she wants more time for her husband to potentially recover because his heart is still beating.
However, the heart will beat as long as it receives oxygen, such as from a ventilator, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
Additionally, organ donor foundations say that families do not get to decide when the organs can be donated.
After five days of being monitored at Sutter Delta Medical Center, Vallejo was declared brain-dead. He is a registered organ donor and his family was given until Wednesday before doctors harvest them. Pictured: Vallego with his sons, left, and with his wife, right
His wife wants doctors to wait one more week before her husband’s organs are harvested. Pictured: Vallejo, center, with his two sons
‘It’s a legal commitment for that person much like [a living will],’ Cathy Koubek, the director of communications for Donor Network West told KTVU.
‘It’s what [the donor] wanted and it is our obligation to facilitate that,
Koubek said that after two doctors declare a patient brain-dead, that person is dead regardless of how well other organs are functioning.
There is then a short time during which the organs can be harvested.
‘The body temperature goes everywhere, blood sugars go up and down,’ said Koubek.
Talia said that doctors have given a firm deadline of Wednesday, July 17, at 7pm, after which Vallejo will be prepped for donation.
‘I believe in organ donation. But I want my family to give me my fighting chance,’ Talia told KTVU.
A Facebook fundraiser was also started to help cover the cost of Vallejo’s medical bills. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $13,500 has been raised out of a $20,00 goal.