Investigation into Organ Transplants
The LA Times last week had an in-depth look into the workings of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) overseeing organ tranplants in the U.S. The news is not good. As much as I love congratulating people who’ve received a heart transplant, the truth is that many heart patients are doomed to a long wait and are at hospitals which are not adhering to guidelines or quality control.
A few years ago, Temple University Medical Center found a way to speed up its patients’ waits for heart transplants.
It reported some patients to be sicker than they were, according to records and interviews, allowing them to jump ahead of patients at other hospitals on a UNOS waiting list.
The hospital did this repeatedly — over four years.
The investigative article is a must read for organ donors and recipients alike (that’s pretty much all of us). Stephen J. Dubner of Freakonomics thinks it has Pulitzer Prize written all over it.
Transplant monitor lax in oversight
U.S. organ network routinely fails to detect problems.
By Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber
October 22, 2006
Photo: Alabama Department of Revenue
Technorati Tags: unos, united network for organ sharing, organs, transplants, organ transplants, heart transplants, heart, heart disease, diseases, health, cardiovascular disease
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POSTED IN: Heart Transplants
1 opinion for Investigation into Organ Transplants
A Hearty Life » Organt Transplants in Vietnam
Nov 12, 2006 at 1:46 am
[…] Clearly, the concerns surrounding illegal trade of human organs are paramount in a country that has an average per capita income of only $638 in 2005. Although there may be doubts about the regulation of organ donation in the U.S., people who need transplants are getting them. The same can’t be said for developing countries like Vietnam. […]
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