It doesn’t matter when Fausto Silva receives a heart transplant: whether it’s today, in a month or in a year and a half. There were always a lot of people on social media shouting indignantly that he was playing by the rules. The presenter is by far the most famous Brazilian to need a heart transplant. Maybe he’s the richest.
All of that celebrity sparked a wave of solidarity around his name, as it was revealed he had queued for a heart where almost 400 people were already waiting. But speculation immediately began on the Internet: As a millionaire, famous and well connected, Faustão would receive the organ much earlier than the poorest patients.
The “prophecy” fulfilled itself this Sunday (27th) when Faustão underwent surgery in São Paulo. Social media was soon awash with messages wishing the presenter a speedy recovery, but the volume of suspicious, let alone outright angry, posts was overwhelming.
It is understandable. Brazil is still the country of the gunslinger, btw: “Do you know who you’re talking to?” Our public services have improved a bit, but are still precarious. Also, the judiciary tends to spare the powerful and send chicken thieves to jail.
It turns out that no one skipped the queue, which is organized by the SUS. The order of arrival is not the only criterion. The patient’s state of health also counts, and very much so, and Fausto Silva’s was indeed very serious.
In addition, the heart must match the recipient’s weight, height, and blood type. Faustãos is the B, much rarer than the A. Finally, there is the time factor: a heart survives four to six hours outside of a body. It is difficult to transport over long distances, even by plane.
But it is no use explaining any of this to someone filled with holy wrath. Many netizens remembered MC Marcinho who died on Saturday (26). But the case of the funk artist from Rio de Janeiro was very different: he had several comorbidities such as diabetes and kidney disease and was also affected by a generalized infection that makes surgery impossible. The internet court doesn’t even want to know.
The SUS is perhaps the best public body in this country. It is serious, it has capillarity and some of the best Brazilian doctors work there without charging for their services. Transplant queues prevent organs from being sold on the parallel market. Patients are not identified by name but by number to prevent any personal preference.
Brazil is the second largest country in the world after the United States to perform the most transplants. However, the number of donors is still very small in relation to the size of our population. The lack of available organs remains a major obstacle.
So here’s my suggestion: What if, instead of complaining about an imagined injustice, you donated YOUR own organs? The first thing to do is tell the family your will. You do not have to sign anything or have any documents registered with a notary. But your family needs to be aware of this and agree with it.
As donations increase, lines will shrink and fuss like this around Fausto Silva will no longer exist.