DNR: What Is It and Why Do People Order Them?

Death is, unfortunately, a certainty in life. This sometimes comes in a slow and painful manner. While it’s impossible to know when we die, a difficult decision that can help us control this unknown.

A Do Not Resuscitate order is put in place for terminally ill patients and calls for doctors to not perform CPR if the patient's heart gives out or they lose oxygen. This order is a very difficult thing to decide and most times it’s a family member of the patient who has to make the decision. There are many factors that come into effect when ordering to have a DNR order. In the end it depends on the patient and their experience with the illness afflicting them. 

Setting Up a DNR

There are a few ways to go about ordering a DNR. It is possible for a patient to request a DNR, but sometimes it's a family member who has to order it. This is in those cases where the loved one can not speak for themselves and unfortunately their family has to make a hard decision. The next step is finding a doctor who will carry out the DNR orders. Sometimes doctors like to prolong the treatment phase and don’t want to opt for an DNR so it’s better to go to someone else if you are completely sure that is the route for you or a loved one. It’s also possible to put this order in a living will. Once in place doctors have to follow this order. 

DNR and CPR

For some it’s hard to wrap their head around the idea of a DNR order, but when it’s deeply researched it is easy to understand why it’s an option for some. For patients lying in bed who are in an immense amount of pain, bedridden, or those who have fallen into a coma who are unlikely to wake up, an option that rids them of this pain is promising. While CPR is an option, for that patient it might not be the best.

It’s been seen that CPR can have harsh effects on the body. It’s been known to break bones and puncture lungs, which, once the patient is saved, will cause more health problems. While in most cases CPR is helpful, sometimes it’s not for patients who are already terminally ill. If CPR is administered and something terrible happens, like broken bones, now the patient is dealing with their illness and the complications from CPR. 

Financial Realities of Dying

Another reason a patient or family member might order an DNR is because of financial reasons. Once someone is sick and they start to have an increase in medical bills, the thought of adding more can become stressful. It’s so much stress already dealing with such pain and suffering, adding more money problems definitely won’t help even in the rare chance someone gets better. 

While ordering a DNR is difficult, rather it’s for a loved one or personally, sometimes it is the best option. Living in agony is not appealing for many and having a plan to make sure that doesn’t happen sounds better than having to stay in pain.

-Anuri Mitchell