What do you think about 17 Year Old Transplant Patient
 

Hey all,

I am not trying to put a damper on anyones day, but I just have a quick question. How do you all feel about the situation with the 17 year old girl who received two heart and lung transplants and in the first one there was a mistake by the hospital and she was given organs that didn't match her bloodtype. I just thought it was serious. I am 18 and that's some scary stuff, and I just wanted to know how you all felt or what you thought about the situation!

I got three words -- somebody gon' pay.

This error compounded into irreversible brain damage, and she was taken off life support on Saturday. How sad.

Yup, the family already hired an attorney. Her death was so sad.

Even though money is green wherever you are, I think that the hospital and everyone involved is going to try to get out of paying because the family is here illegally. They may have gotten right by now, but in the newspaper down here, it says they snuck into the U.S. to get Jesica some medical help. So you know they people in the WRONG are going to pull out all of the stops. This is going to be a LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG legal battle.

As for the botched first operation, it makes people scared because you think that you are finally getting the help that you need or that your are in the care of the best medical facility that you can find and THEY "F" UP! The sad part is that it could have been avoided! Going into the hospital is always a touchy subject. We all have heard of people going into the hospital for an earache and never walking out alive. We are dealing with humans. Even though we put our lives in their hands, the possibility of error is always there. The only thing I can say is that it was a freak accident (that really could have been avoided if people were REALLY doind their jobs). I can just pray that nothing crazy ever happens to me....

Finally, I was once scared to be an organ donor because I was just thinking about the prospect of being "mutilated" for my organs. However, once I thought about how irrational that was (because I would be DEAD) and realized that MY organs may one day save a life, I signed up. I encourage everyone to sign up to be an organ donor. If your dead, what can you do with your organs? Save someone else. I know that I would want someone to do it for me.

Question
 

When you have surgery, do you have to sign a waiver of any sort? I have had a tonsilectomy, but I don't remember what it was that I signed. But now that I think back on it, I seriously doubt that I would sign something saying that they could make a mistake and not be liable. But one of my friends brought up the point of a waiver, so I figured I'd ask y'all.

it depends on what is being removed. Your dr should go over everything (the operating dr, not the nurse) the day before AND the day of surgery so everyone is clear.

It would appear that the dr. performing the transplant ASSUMED that the first set of organs were the correct blood type.. had he done a simple test that could have been avoided. That to me is arrogance. If one has type O blood, they can only recieve type O blood/organs.

I could give a damn how her family came into the country. The transplant was paid for by some kind of organization. She still shouldn't have died b/c someone didnt check the paperwork. :(

I hope you will pardon the thread crashing for just a moment.

This same discussion is going on in another thread where I posted some expertise on the matter.

It is not the surgeon's job to check the blood/HLA types of organs for transplant. This is done by a combination of a nursing/clinical admin team in concert w/ UNOS (or NMDP, depending on the type of transplant.)

You're absolutely correct in that at least a dozen heads will roll--because that is how many people had to screw up all at once for this horrible mistake.

It is easy to accuse or attack "THE DOCTOR" ie, the surgeon in this case, because he/she is the most visible and plays an obvious key role. However, doctors rely on a wide range of staff so that they are capable of doing their jobs. To say "go over it with the doctor, not "just" the nurse" is to oversimplify complicated medical procedures--and the other people involved. It's much more than just "THE DOCTOR".

Someone else dropped the ball here.

Adrienne (PNAM-2003)
:)

Organ donor?
 

In one of my social work classes we were just talking about how women in other countries are selling their organs to pay bills and take care of their families. Many people expressed their concern about being organ donors for fear that they may not recieve the best possilble medical attention b/c their were donors. They thought that they may be "sacrificed" to save someone else. That is one reason why many people hesitate to become organ donors.

In other countries they have implied consent. Meaning if you don't sign a form saying that you don't want to be an organ donor it is implied that you want to be one. A system like this may help people to feel a little safer about being organ donors and it may save more lives b/c more organs would be available.