Overview

• Nineteen-year-old Renna O’Rourke suffered cardiac arrest after inhaling difluoroethane-laced keyboard cleaner and was declared brain dead on June 1 following a four-day ICU stay.
• O’Rourke’s organ donations saved multiple recipients and highlight how tragedy can lead to lifesaving outcomes.
• Medical experts warn that inhaling household aerosol sprays can replace oxygen in the lungs, triggering heart failure, seizures and sudden death even on first use.
• Difluoroethane-containing cleaning sprays are odorless, inexpensive and widely accessible, putting children and teenagers at heightened risk of inhalant abuse.
• The O’Rourkes have launched a GoFundMe and urged parents to search for empty cans and secure cleaning products to prevent similar vaping-inspired trends.