4.5/5 stars*
This book was incredible. I went into this book with relatively high expectations, having read Adam Kay's 'This is going to hurt' earlier this year, I was anticipating to also enjoy this book and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I am absolutely fascinated by transplantation, the idea that someone's death could result in life in so many other people, is a beautiful concept yet the thought of someone's organs being torn out of their body to be replaced into another one, perhaps even that of a stranger, is also strangely disturbing. The ethical debates surrounding this topic are handled beautifully in this book. Joshua Mezrich explores the ethics behind brain-death, consent as well as transplanting between different species. I don't typically tend to read non-ficiton books, yet this one did not fail to keep me interested. The one thing that I was anxious about going into this book was the inevitable medical jargon, however I felt that most of these were explained very clearly. The structure of the book was also very well done. It followed the pioneers of transplant surgery as well as the author's personal experiences, so you could clearly see how the events of the 19th and 20th century impacted medicine today. Overall a very enjoyable read and would definitely recommend .
This book was incredible. I went into this book with relatively high expectations, having read Adam Kay's 'This is going to hurt' earlier this year, I was anticipating to also enjoy this book and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I am absolutely fascinated by transplantation, the idea that someone's death could result in life in so many other people, is a beautiful concept yet the thought of someone's organs being torn out of their body to be replaced into another one, perhaps even that of a stranger, is also strangely disturbing. The ethical debates surrounding this topic are handled beautifully in this book. Joshua Mezrich explores the ethics behind brain-death, consent as well as transplanting between different species. I don't typically tend to read non-ficiton books, yet this one did not fail to keep me interested. The one thing that I was anxious about going into this book was the inevitable medical jargon, however I felt that most of these were explained very clearly. The structure of the book was also very well done. It followed the pioneers of transplant surgery as well as the author's personal experiences, so you could clearly see how the events of the 19th and 20th century impacted medicine today. Overall a very enjoyable read and would definitely recommend .