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Sebelius ordered to make exception on girl's transplant

applecorped

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applecorped
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http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/06/05/dyin...nts-sue-secy-sebelius-over-transplant-policy/


"A little girl with just weeks to live may have been given a second chance on Wednesday, after a federal judge told Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to hold off on enforcing a policy that prevents the girl from receiving life-saving surgery.
The ruling was in response to an emergency motion filed Wednesday by the parents of Sarah Murnaghan, age 10, against Sebelius on the grounds of discrimination. It’s their latest move in a desperate mission, and one that could mean life or death for their daughter."




I hope the girl makes it.:(
 
theprestige said:
Do you mean, which policy-compliant transplant recipient just got bumped so that this girl could cut to the front of the line?
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Not quite, this ruling doesn't allow the girl to cut to the front of the line. It removes the "you must be this tall to ride" limit on lung transplants" and she is now allowed to stand in line.

The previous policy stated that only people of age 12 (IIRC) or older could enter the adult lung transplant list. This was based on old science that concluded adult sized organs could not be used in child sized bodies. Further research has since provided the means for doctors to use adult sized organs on adolescents.
 
Newtons Bit said:
Further research has since provided the means for doctors to use adult sized organs on adolescents.
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Is that true for lungs though? And is that the consensus in the medical community or just one person's opinion?

Judge grants dying Pa. girl’s bid to seek adult lungs; expert raises medical, ethical concerns

Lung transplants are the most difficult of organ transplants, and children fare worse than adults, which is one reason for the existing policy, said Dr. Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University Langone Medical Center.

He called it troubling, and perhaps precedent-setting, for a judge to overrule that medical judgment, and predicted a run to the courthouse by patients who don’t like their place on the waiting list.

“I’m not sure I want judges or congressmen or bureaucrats trying to decide what to do with organs at the bedside,” Caplan said.
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Sarah’s doctors, one of whom testified Wednesday at an emergency hearing before Baylson, believe they can perform a successful transplant on her with adult lungs.
. . .
While many more adult lungs than children’s lungs wind up being donated, the ruling doesn’t guarantee Sarah a new set of lungs. The matches are based on blood type, the risk of dying, the chance of surviving a transplant, and other medical factors. The donor lungs would also have to be an appropriate size for her chest.

Newman said some lungs donated from deceased adults have been offered for children’s transplants over the past two years, although he couldn’t give a number. But he said all were turned down by the children’s surgeons.

The UNOS system was established to avoid bias in determining who gets organs, thus ensuring that the rich or celebrities, for example, don’t have a better chance, Caplan noted. He said it is transparent, with policies open to public comment and scrutiny before they’re enacted.

“When a judge steps in and says, ‘I don’t like these rules, I think they’re arbitrary,’ they better be very arbitrary or he’s undermining the authority of the whole system. Why wouldn’t anybody sue?”
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Newtons Bit said:
This was based on old science that concluded adult sized organs could not be used in child sized bodies. Further research has since provided the means for doctors to use adult sized organs on adolescents.
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If that's the case, then wouldn't a better solution be to change the policy rather than simply make an exception?

ETA: quoted in Puppycow's post:

“When a judge steps in and says, ‘I don’t like these rules, I think they’re arbitrary,’ they better be very arbitrary or he’s undermining the authority of the whole system. Why wouldn’t anybody sue?”
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I agree. And if he thinks the rules are wrong, he should order the rules be changed, not merely to make a single exception to them. It's almost as if he thinks the rules are bad, but he doesn't believe in that position firmly enough to challenge them. The last thing we want is everyone on the transplant list to have a day in court, bogging down the entire transplant system (not to mention clogging already backlogged courts).
 
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I don't know... she's a kid maybe she should be allowed to cut in line. Women and children 1st.
 
Caper said:
I don't know... she's a kid maybe she should be allowed to cut in line. Women and children 1st.
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All other things being equal, I would choose a younger person over an older person. All other things are usually not equal though. I'm not so sure about women over men though. That seems a bit old-fashioned.
 
Lawsuits are very costly. Are the people who can afford a good lawyer going to get the body parts?

Government and healthcare, yep, this is going to be good :rolleyes:
 
schplurg said:
Lawsuits are very costly. Are the people who can afford a good lawyer going to get the body parts?

Government and healthcare, yep, this is going to be good :rolleyes:
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Yes, I'd much rather have an insurance company making the decisions, there's no conflict of interest there.:rolleyes:

Daredelvis
 
FWIW, adult lungs can be used in children. They require either transplanting just a lobe or cutting the lungs down to fit. (And therefore the probability of success is reduced.)

And under the current rules, children are in line for adult lungs, but they are in line after adults. So this decision would essentially let this individual cut in line contrary to the rules which are set to make best use of available organs.

Again, I don't think we want to open the floodgates of lawsuits like this. If the rules were misapplied, that's something that should be subject to review. But I don't think the courts should be involved in ordering exceptions to the rules. If so, we'd essentially abandon the rules and deal with the ensuing chaos in the courts. Bad for organ transplantation and bad for the courts.


ETA: One positive that might come out of this: increased awareness for the horrendous scarcity of available organs. In most states (or is it all now?) you can consent to donate organs via the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act when you renew your driver's license. Or you can simply sign the back of it.
 
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JoeTheJuggler said:
FWIW, adult lungs can be used in children. They require either transplanting just a lobe or cutting the lungs down to fit. (And therefore the probability of success is reduced.)

And under the current rules, children are in line for adult lungs, but they are in line after adults. So this decision would essentially let this individual cut in line contrary to the rules which are set to make best use of available organs.

Again, I don't think we want to open the floodgates of lawsuits like this. If the rules were misapplied, that's something that should be subject to review. But I don't think the courts should be involved in ordering exceptions to the rules. If so, we'd essentially abandon the rules and deal with the ensuing chaos in the courts. Bad for organ transplantation and bad for the courts.


ETA: One positive that might come out of this: increased awareness for the horrendous scarcity of available organs. In most states (or is it all now?) you can consent to donate organs via the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act when you renew your driver's license. Or you can simply sign the back of it.
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Yep.

JoeTheJuggler said:
Insurance companies don't decide who gets first choice at available transplant organs.
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I was responding to the "guvmnt healthcare bad" post I quoted above.

Daredelvis
 
My father-in-law needs a lung transplant too. It'll be hilarious if his lung goes to this girl instead.
 
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