“Who’s saying some other recipient will get denied?”
Well the demand exceeds supply so there is a waiting list. Many die waiting to get a lung. I guess you could say some were not denied per se but just couldn’t survive long enough to wait for one. My understanding is this judge’s actions only allow her to ‘compete’ and request a lung via the lung allocation system. She would then need to get on the waiting list and not sure if she can make it for several months ...
http://www.phaonlineuniv.org/Journal/Article.cfm?ItemNumber=638
http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Lung-transplant-patients-face-tough-odds-3998899.php#page-2
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/heart_and_lung_transplant/article_em.htm
Tough situation all around. As in life, there are always winners and losers (sorry, don’t mean to sound cruel but that’s the way it is)
By beef is with government involvement and authority, that’s all.
Lungs are a difficult organ to harvest because they’re so easily injured and vulnerable to infection.
When donors are brain-dead, which is often the case, they’re kept on a ventilator to maintain oxygen in the blood supply going to their still-healthy organs. But ventilators can damage the lungs, and they often promote infections such as pneumonia.
Only about 1 in 5 lungs from deceased donors is viable for transplantation. Dr. Jasleen Kukreja, surgical director of the lung transplant program at UCSF, said doctors have worked out techniques to recover some of those lungs, including treating infections after the organs have been removed.
UCSF expects to start using a new technique next year that involves placing injured donor lungs into a machine that will pump blood and nutrients into them and repair them before they are transplanted.
But much work remains if doctors and surgeons are going to improve long-term survival rates.
Many lung recipients experience a sudden and remarkable improvement in their health after their surgery,... only to end up gasping for breath again in four or five years.
Thanks for the links...it certainly isn’t a slam dunk for this girl yet...but it would seem her “chances” for a transplant have increased...since she’s also on the children’s list?