this post was submitted on 21 May 2024
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A 10-year-old boy who was swept into a storm drain while helping his family clean up storm debris is being kept on life support so that his organs can be donated, according to his father.

The boy, Asher Sullivan, "officially passed away" on May 18, but remains on life support to facilitate the organ donation process, his dad, Jimmy Sullivan, wrote in a Facebook post.

"It’s 100% an 'Asher' type thing to do in continuing to be selfless," Sullivan shared  on Facebook. "He will have an honor walk at the hospital in the next few days and be celebrated as he is, a hero!"

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[–] [email protected] 124 points 1 month ago (7 children)

What kind of awful title is that?????

[–] [email protected] 58 points 1 month ago

I mean, why else would you sweep children into drains?

RIP little dude. My cousin died around the same age and also became an organ donor.

[–] gedaliyah 20 points 1 month ago

I thought I was the only one. Careless use of the word "to."

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago

I thought it's an onion article. We need new organs. Sweep some 10 year old into a storm drain

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

What's awful about it? Unless you mean that it's a ten year old passing away, that is sad.

[–] puppy 45 points 1 month ago (4 children)

The unambiguous title should be,

"10-year-old swept into storm drain will become an organ donor, dad says"

The title used kinda sounds like the boy willingly swept into the drain "to" become an organ donor.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (5 children)

"is". They literally just needed to add the word "is" to make it clear.

10-year-old swept into storm drain is to become an organ donor, dad says

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[–] Chainweasel 16 points 1 month ago

The title makes it sound like the storm drain is some sort of organ harvesting machine and he was purposefully placed in there so his organs could be donated.

[–] capital 2 points 1 month ago

“They are to become an organ donor.”

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[–] robocall 67 points 1 month ago (6 children)

The kid is going to save a lot of other lives by being an organ donor. I have no idea why people would opt out of being a donor.

[–] Iheartcheese 52 points 1 month ago (6 children)

People are convinced that if you are an organ donor doctors let you die on purpose.

People are morons.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 month ago

It's kinda the opposite, because for the fire brigade and emergency services the existence of organ harvesting incentives even 'lost causes' to be saved.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

If you're in the sort of country where people will kill you for your organs, I don't think they're in the habit of asking permission first...

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

Even dumber when you realize the hospital absolutely doesn't need a little card to let you die.

[–] Mantis_Toboggan 5 points 1 month ago

Yeah, for decades I’ve heard that theory too. I’ve always thought of it as an urban myth.

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[–] bitchkat 30 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Don't forget you can also donate your corpse to medical schools!

[–] cobysev 28 points 1 month ago (2 children)

My father did this. He signed up for his body to be donated to science. He always told me, the minute he passes, there's a card in his wallet with a phone number. Just call them and they'll come out to pick up his body. That's it; no funeral or anything. He didn't believe in wasting money on a funeral or burial plot/coffin after he was dead. When they're done with their research, they'll return his cremated remains to us.

Sadly, I had to call that number a few months ago.

[–] bitchkat 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Your dad was a smart man. I too plan on avoiding the scummy funeral industry!

[–] Dasus 6 points 1 month ago

I too plan on avoiding the scummy funeral industry!

Uh... well.. about scummy industries... I have what is perhaps slightly depressing news on that.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Your father is helping train the next generation of doctors!

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (5 children)

In the US, at least, I believe you cannot specifically donate to medical schools. Generally you indicate that you'd like to be used to medical research or teaching, but that can be a wide variety of things.

To be clear, I still support and advocate for this, but believe people should be informed.

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[–] Nurse_Robot 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That came across as if you were being facetious, but maybe I'm wrong. Tone is difficult to assess over text

[–] bitchkat 3 points 1 month ago

Not facetious at all. At my local university, they pick up the body, use if for whatever and when done, they will cremate (mass) and return ashes to family if they want. Every dollar that doesn't go to the funeral industry is a benefit to mankind.

[–] someguy3 13 points 1 month ago

It should be be an opt out system rather than an opt in.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

I hear "the doctors will give up on me more easily" if they even have an argument they can put into words. Which seems ridiculous to me - if they even bother to check, it seems like they'd be more willing to put time and effort into keeping your body intact, giving you a better chance to bounce back despite long odds

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[–] rayyy 50 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Due to increased hurricanes and flooding we probably need a law that specifies storm drains have some type of safety grate. This isn't that rare either - years ago a friend's daughter died after being sucked into a drainage pipe.

[–] theRealBassist 34 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

I worked for the stormwater division of my city up until recently.

We had 6 people responsible for the inspection of over 30,000 pieces of stormwater infrastructure all of which needs to be inspected within a 5 year cycle. We also have to deal with citizen complaints, assisting other departments, updating maps/inventories, writing EPD/EPA reports, etc. and all for 15-18$/hr. My experience is far from abnormal as well.

We need city level government to actually give a shit about stormwater infrastructure to even get things working halfway properly let alone setup safety features.

[–] RubberElectrons 4 points 1 month ago
[–] Dasus 4 points 1 month ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Honestly a lot of jobs should be helping maintain and service a city where there is larger products being made to pay the bills but everyone is scared of the money maker walking out on them and having to manage to the kids without the income so we just got rid of and cut back as much as possible and figure it will just work out.

My city hires work visa immigrants for bottom barrel prices to handle road infrastructure. Roads, the thing we care about most here in the USA and we can't even properly fix and maintain them.

A good city employs it's people to maintain the city while it's citizens figure out new services and products to make for more generated revenue. We let the whole place go to shit though and now no one wants it anymore.

[–] Numenor 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This, but also make it a rule that any new ones have a grill or improved design or something.

it seems that it's only the US that uses that design, I could be incorrect. But presumably other places have streets and storms and have have to come up with a solution that doesn't have enough space to house an adult sized male clown.

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Kids dying this way is 100% expected given the braindead design of US storm drains

[–] Potatos_are_not_friends 42 points 1 month ago (8 children)

I never actually thought about this.

Why exactly are storm drains designed like that with a opening for little kids to get sucked in?

Do other countries (with similar weather) have the same problems?

[–] [email protected] 45 points 1 month ago

We have the grate in the floor, but not the massive openings that clown monsters live in.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 month ago

The one on that picture is actually okay, I've seen way bigger openings.

Never seen them outside North America.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

This 3 foot pipe is also considered a storm drain. Unclear in the article if he was sucked down a street drain with unnecessarily large opening, or a drain for a creek.

[–] theRealBassist 9 points 1 month ago

That's not a storm drain, known as an inlet. That's a pipe section functioning as a culvert or outfall.

[–] IsThisAnAI 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

To lessen debris getting stuck. No idea if it's effective.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

We have similar drains in Australia, I don't think it's particularly common but I have seen them get completely clogged in a big storm. Nearly flooded our friends house because they lived at the bottom of a hill.

[–] IsThisAnAI 2 points 1 month ago

I did say lessen. I've seen many sized drains get clogged in flooding haha.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

Why don't they add a grid? That's completely unsafe

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

As a father of a four-year-old, this story makes me want to fucking puke. Swept into a storm drain is one of the most horrific ways I could imagine losing my little girl.

[–] PorradaVFR 12 points 1 month ago

What an amazing gesture and selfless decision by a family living my worst nightmare. That is achingly beautiful.

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