Tragic Transplant Mistake

[Max Power]

This is a tragedy - - no question.
What is also sad, though not nearly as sad, is that the hospital will pay a fortune for this mistake, and it will just be transferred into the cost that participants pay for healthcare.

Back to the main story -- this poor girl. Words cannot describe.

DURHAM, N.C. (Feb. 18) - A teenager from Mexico who mistakenly received organs from a donor with a different blood type was not expected to live more than a few days, a family friend said Tuesday.

The girl, whose family moved to the United States so she could get a heart and lung transplant, remained in critical condition Tuesday, said Richard Puff, a spokesman for Duke University Hospital.

``She's only got a couple of more days to live on this heart-lung machine, and she's already experiencing damage to her kidneys,'' friend Mack Mahoney told ABC's ``Good Morning America.''

Jesica Santillam, 17, suffers from a heart deformity that prevents her lungs from pumping enough oxygen into her blood. After a three-year wait, she received a transplant on Feb. 7 with a heart and lungs flown in from Boston.

The organs flown from Boston to Durham 10 days ago were sent with paperwork correctly listing the donor's blood type, said Sean Fitzpatrick of the New England Organ Bank, which sent the organs.

Speaking through an interpreter, the girl's mother, Magdalena Santillan, told ``Good Morning America'' that the hospital called her and said they had received same blood-type organs, and that the organs had come exactly just to her daughter's measurements.

Somehow, the type-A organs were transplanted into the girl with type O-positive blood.

``This was a tragic error, and we accept responsibility for our part,'' said Dr. William Fulkerson, chief executive officer of Duke University Hospital, in a statement released Monday night. ``This is an especially sad situation since we intended this operation to save the life of a girl whose prognosis was grave.''

Duke Hospital officials initially refused to elaborate on the mix-up, but Mahoney, who has legal authority to participate in Jesica's medical care, said the girl's family was told a ``clerical error'' allowed her name to come up on a list of possible recipients.

[KCBOOMER]

It is a double edged tragedy. Those organs could have been placed in someelse and saved a life.

[Max Power]

Originally posted by KCBOOMER
It is a double edged tragedy. Those organs could have been placed in someelse and saved a life.

Excellent point.

[rcartman28]

How sad....:(

[Max Power]

This was quick! Almost too quick - - I say this since I knew a 26 year old girl that died 10 years ago waiting for a lung transplant that never came in time............organs usually don't turn up this fast - - - unless you're Mickey Mantle or about to be sued, I guess?

DURHAM, N.C. (Feb. 20) - Another organ donor has been found for a 17-year-old girl clinging to life after she received organs that didn't match her blood type, a spokeswoman said.

The surgery was scheduled Thursday morning, and it has a 50-50 chance of success, said Renee McCormick, a spokeswoman for Jesica's Hope Chest. The organ was found at 1 a.m. Thursday, she said.

McCormick said she didn't know who donated the organs, but they were donated directly to Jesica Santillan, who mistakenly received a heart and lungs incompatible with her type O-positive blood during a transplant Feb. 7 at Duke University Hospital. She has been in critical condition.

McCormick called the new organs an ``incredibly good match.'' ``We are elated,'' she told CNN. ``The family is overjoyed.''

Jesica's condition steadily deteriorated after the botched operation, and she suffered a heart attack Feb. 10 and a seizure on Sunday. A machine has kept her heart and lungs going, and a scan Wednesday found no signs of brain damage, said McCormick.

Jesica's body was rejecting the new organs because of the different blood types. Antibodies in her blood attacked the organs as foreign objects.

02/20/03 06:22 EST

[JamesI]

Originally posted by Max Power
This was quick! Almost too quick - - I say this since I knew a 26 year old girl that died 10 years ago waiting for a lung transplant that never came in time............organs usually don't turn up this fast - - - unless you're Mickey Mantle or about to be sued, I guess?


This is fast, but since the hospital screwed up the first time not the body rejecting the transplant, I can understand it more than Mantle getting bumped to the top three times.

[Craig S.]

They're giving her a 50-50 chance. I guess all we can do now is hope.

[pathogan]

...hard to find the silver lining here.Tragic,crushing error...:(

[WiredTiger]

Originally posted by Max Power
This was quick! Almost too quick - - I say this since I knew a 26 year old girl that died 10 years ago waiting for a lung transplant that never came in time............organs usually don't turn up this fast - - - unless you're Mickey Mantle or about to be sued, I guess? I think she probably was kept at the front of the line and rightfully so. Unfortunately she didn't make it. Hopefully the hospitals will review their procedures and make sure that this doesn't happen again.

[pwdennis]

One of the odd aspects of this case. The girls' family refused to donate her usable organs, thus ensuring that at least one more person will die who could have been saved

I hope the jury that hears the civil case gets to hear this piece of information

[Skip]

Wow. That's the topper of all toppers. Geez.

[JamesI]

Originally posted by pwdennis
One of the odd aspects of this case. The girls' family refused to donate her usable organs, thus ensuring that at least one more person will die who could have been saved

I hope the jury that hears the civil case gets to hear this piece of information

Its hard to belive after so desperately needing those organs, the family wouldn't allow them to donate usable ones on to help others. That's just dispicable.

[rcartman28]

Originally posted by JamesI
Its hard to belive after so desperately needing those organs, the family wouldn't allow them to donate usable ones on to help others. That's just dispicable.

I agree.....:(

[satchel]

Originally posted by pwdennis
One of the odd aspects of this case. The girls' family refused to donate her usable organs, thus ensuring that at least one more person will die who could have been saved


Where did you read that? Do you happen to have a link? (I'm not challenging you - I'd just like to read more. :) )

[pwdennis]

ok

http://www.smudailycampus.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/02/28/3e5eded915d4d

[Max Power]

From the link above:

Santillan and her family were smuggled into the United States from Mexico in order for her to receive treatment. After her death, her parents declined donating any of her organs. The Santillan family is also suing the medical staff at The Duke University Medical Center.

The price of an individuals life is the question that stems from this incident. Santillan was not a tax paying U.S. resident, but received medical care and organs that could possibly have saved four individuals. Many newspaper articles have stated that there is a shortage of available organs, yet somehow Santillan got four.

Further, her parents refusing to donate her organs sets up a hypocrisy - they were willing to take but not to give back.


Gosh, I'm not sure what, right now, but, something has to be done about this. Then again, some may say their actions - - suing, taking/not giving - is the "American way." I don't even want to think about them/this anymore.

[satchel]

Originally posted by Max Power
I don't even want to think about them/this anymore.

I agree completely. This started out as a sad, sad story and this family found itself the recipient of the sympathy of the entire nation. Now, with the "illegal immigrant" angle, and their own refusal to reciprocate the donation, it's developed an ugly side that is only going to generate a lot of venom. It's not going to be a fun story to follow.

(Thanks for the link, pw)

[Craig S.]

I have a couple of questions about this. Maybe someone with legal knowledge knows the answer:

1) Can her parents sue Duke despite the fact that they aren't legal residents of the US?

2) Can they prove that negligence caused her death? Without the procedure, she would have died anyway, and there was no guarantee of success. Yes, they messed up in a horrible way, but can it be proved that their negligence actually caused her death?

I feel terrible for the girl, but my sympathy for her parents now seems somewhat misguided.