Why we should have an ‘Opt Out’ organ donation policy
MSNBC | Michael Smerconish
Let me finish tonight with this.
In a week of NSA and DNA and MLB, a 10-year-old girl has captured national and world attention.
Sarah Murnaghan is dying of end-stage cystic fibrosis in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She has been waiting for lung transplant for a year and a half.
Now, she has weeks to live â€" if that.
The issue?
To be eligible for an adult lung you have to be 12 years old and Sarah is only 10, so she’s been waiting for a transplant from a pediatric donor â€" of which there are few.
Her parents appealed, requesting Sarah be placed on the adult lung transplant list. That appeal was declined, and an online petition was launched calling for that policy to change and for federal officials to make an “exceptional ruling†on behalf of the child.
Sadly, this story has become political with Kathleen Sebelius at center of storm. Secretary Sebelius called the case “agonizing†but said she could not interfere with the donor rules.
Midweek, a federal judge in Philadelphia ruled that Sarah is eligible to receive a lung from the adult donor list. The judge ordered Sebelius to suspend the donor rules for at least 10 days and a hearing is set for June 14.
With that door open, the family of 11-year-old Javier Acosta has subsequently been granted a temporary injunction to waive the rule.
My thoughts and prayers are with Sarah and Javier and their families but I think this raises a bigger question about organ donation in the United States.
If the issue is not enough lungs and kidneys and hearts and corneas â€" how do we get more?
Two words: Opt Out.
In a week of NSA and DNA and MLB, a 10-year-old girl has captured national and world attention.
Sarah Murnaghan is dying of end-stage cystic fibrosis in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She has been waiting for lung transplant for a year and a half.
Now, she has weeks to live â€" if that.
The issue?
To be eligible for an adult lung you have to be 12 years old and Sarah is only 10, so she’s been waiting for a transplant from a pediatric donor â€" of which there are few.
Her parents appealed, requesting Sarah be placed on the adult lung transplant list. That appeal was declined, and an online petition was launched calling for that policy to change and for federal officials to make an “exceptional ruling†on behalf of the child.
Sadly, this story has become political with Kathleen Sebelius at center of storm. Secretary Sebelius called the case “agonizing†but said she could not interfere with the donor rules.
Midweek, a federal judge in Philadelphia ruled that Sarah is eligible to receive a lung from the adult donor list. The judge ordered Sebelius to suspend the donor rules for at least 10 days and a hearing is set for June 14.
With that door open, the family of 11-year-old Javier Acosta has subsequently been granted a temporary injunction to waive the rule.
My thoughts and prayers are with Sarah and Javier and their families but I think this raises a bigger question about organ donation in the United States.
If the issue is not enough lungs and kidneys and hearts and corneas â€" how do we get more?
Two words: Opt Out.
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"You have the power to SAVE lives."
To register as a donor in California:
www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org | www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org
Outside California:
www.organdonor.gov | www.donatelife.net
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