Posted on 06/13/2013 5:23:08 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The campaign to move a dying 10-year-old onto the waiting list for adult lungs has succeeded: Wednesday afternoon Sarah Murnaghan underwent transplant surgery in Philadelphia and she has a good chance at a longer life.
What may never be known is who may have suffered in her stead. When one person moves up an organ transplant waiting list, another person may move down
If all goes well, the young cystic fibrosis patient will get a fresh start on childhood, able to spend time with friends, play sports and do other normal kid things, Samuel Goldfarb, her doctor at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said during a court hearing last week.
But as everyone hopes for the best for Sarah and her family, the match comes after a media campaign, a lawsuit and a federal court order, not to mention pressure from lawmakers on HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to personally intervene on behalf of a single child. It has experts from the transplant community worried about a precedent with the potential to open up the system to tampering from the outside. And that could begin chipping away at the careful framework set up to fairly distribute donated organs, the most precious — and scarce — resources in the health care system.
“If the distribution of organs becomes subject to the success of individual publicity campaigns, with organs going to those who hire the best PR firms and lawyers, who on the waiting list would remain confident that their priority would be decided on the merits?” Daniel Wikler, a medical ethics expert at Harvard, said in an email.
“And who would agree to donate organs to a system supposedly based on rational, humane, and fair selection criteria but that would actually be determined by the assets of the highest bidder?”
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Children generally have a higher survival rate.
I wish I knew more but I am certain there must have been a substantial medical reason for the age limit to start with.
It is a touchy situation.
Not only did someone get bumped, but cystic fibrosis will attack the new lung.
This is a crock. Not every organ goes to someone on their deathbed. Moreover not every organ is able to be matched with someone ready for surgery. This girl was about to die and the government official said let her die. Fortunately she lived. That’s all that matters.
The important thing is that the big-government/big-corporate criminal complex made lots of money, one way or the other.
“Children generally have a higher survival rate.”
Do you have a cite for that? Everything I’ve read indicates quite the opposite for child recipients of adult lungs.
No I’m just talking generally children do better with transplants.
It is a touchy situation.
Not only did someone get bumped, but cystic fibrosis will attack the new lung.
CF is genetic, it is not like Tuberculosis...
Of course, it’s a popularity contest now.
All the best to the child. It’s not her fault of course.
Survival rates for child organ transplants. (not a comparison)
http://www.chp.edu/CHP/Survival+Rates+Transplantation
Ha. All of a sudden Politico cares about “costs”? Screw them.
And she still has it.
...must take attention of Sebelius who lied when she said her hands were tied.
must take attention OFF Sebelius
[ And she still has it.]
The cells in the transplanted lungs do not have it therefore she will not have it when it comes to her lungs, do you even know the difference between a disease caused by a pathogen and a genetic disorder?
The new lungs will not be “re-infected” by Cystic Fibrosis because the disease is not caused by a virus or bacteria....
Her Doctor said an adult lung would be fine in his patient. The age limit is an arbitrary bureaucratic directive to simplify paperwork.
I never said I was a Dr.
Still, someone got bumped and may die.
Perhaps some 10 year old girls Mommy.
Sorta, maybe but not really. The age limit was put in because "we have to draw the line somewhere." Bureaucrats like firm lines and arbitrary rules.
And while a lung from say, Shaquille O'Neal, would probably not fit into a newborn when the child is older then there is less problem. Especially if it is from a smaller adult.
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