Unfortunately, in this case I believe Sebelius is right, for a couple of reasons (one of which she didn’t mean to prove). First, who should be bumped down the list so this girl can get the transplant? If she gets it, almost certainly someone else will die. Lungs are kind of odd, in that they don’t last very long in transplant situations. They start degrading, unlike other transplanted organs. After 5 or so years, the patient will need another transplant. So, this may only be prolonging the inevitable.
Second, while Sebelius has the authority to suspend the transplant rules, do we really want to further set the precedent of bureaucrats making the decisions instead of qualified medical authorities? I though that was one of the main objections to Ocare. The more exceptions we make, the more exceptions *can* be made. This time it might be a young girl. Next time it might be someone with political connections, or with more money, or the right political beliefs. And worse, the person who is chosen to get bumped down the list might be someone with the wrong beliefs, or who donated to the “wrong” party. I’d much rather that kind of thing get decided by a doctor on the basis of whether the transplant makes medical sense, than on any other factor.
I think we need to get away from transplants and work on tactics to grow replacement organs from the patient’s own (adult) stem cells, but this is a bit OT for now, but I think if we break this barrier, we’d all be better off.
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
I am disturbed by the number of FReepers engaged in thoughtless name calling on the issue.
After compatibility, it should be a matter of size, not age. The parents are not asking for their daughter to bump adults, but rather for adults not to bump her - for her to get in the adult line and wait her turn, in other words.
Your point is completely devoid of moral substance. May you personally reap the rewards of Obamacare.
If your family member was the one who was next and was bumped for this girl, how would you feel?
Why is her life worth saving and someone else’s, who’s also on the list, isn’t?
I’m not sure why the federal government is involved in this decision, it should be up to her doctors and parents.
What difference does it make if she’s 10 and it lasts for 5 years and if someone is 12 and it lasts for 5 years?
Remind me to leave in my will my lungs to a kid with cystic fibriosis. I just hope that kid does not mind having asthma for 5 years.