Sarah Versus the Data
Pacific Standards | Mission & State | Michael Fitzgerald
Was Sebelius Right Not to Bump Murnaghan to the Front of the Line?
Ten-year-old Sarah Murnaghan is in the end stages of a lifelong battle against cystic fibrosis. Her family says that she has only weeks to live if she doesn’t receive a partial lung transplant. If successful, the transplant could effectively cure her condition, speculated one lung doctor (not involved in Sarah’s care) that spoke to ABC News. But the medical establishment’s rules and legal and ethical standards seem to be delaying, and maybe preventing, the Pennsylvania girl from getting her transplant. Now the case has made its way to Washington, D.C., with a political dynamic reminiscent of the Terry Schiavo case.
At the crux of this case: the fact that there just aren’t too many child-sized lungs available for transplants. The collaborative of non-profits and government agencies that administer organ donations dictates that anyone under the age of 12 goes on a waiting list for the small number of child lungs that become available. This list is separate from the list for adolescents and adults who can seek a transplant from a larger pool of older donors. In the rare case where a child’s medical circumstances would allow for a safe transplant from an adult, the child will be placed at the bottom of the adult listâ€"even if their condition is worse than those above them.
Yesterday, Sarah’s family sued (PDF) the Department of Health and Human Services in the U.S. District Court to prevent the rule from being applied in this case, allowing her to move up the adult list. Judge Michael Baylson, in eastern Pennsylvania, quickly complied, and, according to CNN, “Ruled in favor of a 10-day restraining order that blocks U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from applying a policy keeping children younger than 12 from being prioritized for available adult lung transplants, the judge’s clerk said.â€
Continue reading
______________________________________________________
"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.
Was Sebelius Right Not to Bump Murnaghan to the Front of the Line?
Ten-year-old Sarah Murnaghan is in the end stages of a lifelong battle against cystic fibrosis. Her family says that she has only weeks to live if she doesn’t receive a partial lung transplant. If successful, the transplant could effectively cure her condition, speculated one lung doctor (not involved in Sarah’s care) that spoke to ABC News. But the medical establishment’s rules and legal and ethical standards seem to be delaying, and maybe preventing, the Pennsylvania girl from getting her transplant. Now the case has made its way to Washington, D.C., with a political dynamic reminiscent of the Terry Schiavo case.
At the crux of this case: the fact that there just aren’t too many child-sized lungs available for transplants. The collaborative of non-profits and government agencies that administer organ donations dictates that anyone under the age of 12 goes on a waiting list for the small number of child lungs that become available. This list is separate from the list for adolescents and adults who can seek a transplant from a larger pool of older donors. In the rare case where a child’s medical circumstances would allow for a safe transplant from an adult, the child will be placed at the bottom of the adult listâ€"even if their condition is worse than those above them.
Sarah’s condition is dire, and tragic. But the medical community knows a lot more about how much everyone else ahead of her will benefit from such a transplant.
Yesterday, Sarah’s family sued (PDF) the Department of Health and Human Services in the U.S. District Court to prevent the rule from being applied in this case, allowing her to move up the adult list. Judge Michael Baylson, in eastern Pennsylvania, quickly complied, and, according to CNN, “Ruled in favor of a 10-day restraining order that blocks U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from applying a policy keeping children younger than 12 from being prioritized for available adult lung transplants, the judge’s clerk said.â€
Continue reading
______________________________________________________
"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.
Comments
Post a Comment