PRINCESS VIJA
Viva Latvia!
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2001
- Messages
- 6,845
I am sad for the family that lost their loved one, but I am so happy for this poor family that suffered from this horrific mistake. I work in the operating room and have been involved with heart transplants. I just can't imagine the turmoil of emotions for everyone. I pray these organs will work for Jessica, and a special blessing to the family of the donor.
_______________________________________________
from CBS news......
(CBS) A friend of the family of Jesica Santillan says new donor organs have been found for the 17-year-old, and transplant surgery is to begin this morning at Duke University.
Jesica has been near death since a mistake in an earlier heart-lung transplant, in which organs with the wrong blood type were implanted.
Since that mistake was made, on Feb. 7, the hospital has publicly admitted the error, changed its procedures, as the family appealed for new organs, and finally saw Jesica's name rise to number one on the national transplant list.
The organs being donated today were, however, donated directly to Jesica - by the wishes of the family of the donor.
A CT scan was done Wednesday to determine whether Jesica has suffered any brain damage while on life support equipment awaiting the donor organs that are her only hope for survival.
Renee McCormick, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina charity which is helping pay Jesica's medical bills, says the CT scan found no significant problems.
Jesica - who has been waiting three years for donor organs - has a heart deformity that prevents her lungs from pumping enough oxygen into her blood.
She is from a small town near Guadalajara, Mexico, and moved to North Carolina with her family several years ago, believing that she would have a better chance for a transplant if she were in the U.S.
Jesica's condition has steadily deteriorated since the botched operation. She suffered a heart attack Feb. 10 and a seizure on Sunday, and is in critical condition now with a machine keeping her heart and lungs going.
"Right now my daughter is between life and death. She could die at any moment," said her mother, Magdalena Santillan, speaking through an interpreter earlier this week, appealing for new donor organs. "My daughter needs a transplant of a heart and lungs to survive. It's the only hope that we have because the doctors made an error."
Jesica, who is blood type O, mistakenly received organs that were blood type A.
Jesica's case reminds those in the organ donation community of two similar errors in the past - both at the hospital now called Oregon Health and Science University.
In 1994, according to organ network spokesman Bob Spieldenner, surgeons opened the chest of a 15-year-old, discovered a blood type error at the last minute, and closed him up without implanting the incompatible organ. He died ten days later.
Spieldenner says in 1991, a heart with the wrong blood type was transplanted into a patient. When the error was discovered, the patient was given a new heart - and survived.
At Duke University, hospital CEO Dr. William Fulkerson says the mistake made in Jesica's case is "a tragic error, and we accept responsibility for our part... This is an especially sad situation since we intended this operation to save the life of a girl whose prognosis was grave."
To prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again, the hospital says it has put in place new procedures including "multiple confirmations of donor match by members of the care team before the transplantation process begins and improved communications between Duke and the organ procurement organization."
Duke University Hospital spokesman Richard Puff could not specify how the mistake was made in Jesica's case. But he says the hospital staff believed the organs were compatible and that compatibility had been confirmed.
"This was a tragic event and our expectation is that, with these new procedures, this will not happen again," says Puff. "We've done thousands of organ transplants and it's never happened before."
The erroneously transplanted organs were flown in from Boston. They were sent with paperwork correctly listing the donor's type-A blood, said Sean Fitzpatrick of the New England Organ Bank, which sent the organs.
According to Carolina Donor Services, an organ procurement organization, the heart and lung became available from a donor in New England and were offered by the New England Organ Bank after being matched to two North Carolina patients on a national database.
Two Duke surgeons declined the organs but a third Duke surgeon requested them for Santillan, Carolina Donor Services said in a written statement late Tuesday. The organization did not identify the doctor.
Heart and lung transplants are rare for teenagers: in the first 11 months of last year, there were four nationwide for children between the ages of 11 and 17, UNOS' records show. The previous year, there were four.
Mahoney, a businessman in Louisburg, got involved after he read news reports of the girl's ailment and her family's lack of money. He and his wife joined community efforts to raise money to pay for her medical care, and Jesica's parents gave Mahoney power of attorney for their daughter.
"I've been trying to save this girl's life," says Mahoney. "It's been a fight all the way."
_______________________________________________
from CBS news......
(CBS) A friend of the family of Jesica Santillan says new donor organs have been found for the 17-year-old, and transplant surgery is to begin this morning at Duke University.
Jesica has been near death since a mistake in an earlier heart-lung transplant, in which organs with the wrong blood type were implanted.
Since that mistake was made, on Feb. 7, the hospital has publicly admitted the error, changed its procedures, as the family appealed for new organs, and finally saw Jesica's name rise to number one on the national transplant list.
The organs being donated today were, however, donated directly to Jesica - by the wishes of the family of the donor.
A CT scan was done Wednesday to determine whether Jesica has suffered any brain damage while on life support equipment awaiting the donor organs that are her only hope for survival.
Renee McCormick, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina charity which is helping pay Jesica's medical bills, says the CT scan found no significant problems.
Jesica - who has been waiting three years for donor organs - has a heart deformity that prevents her lungs from pumping enough oxygen into her blood.
She is from a small town near Guadalajara, Mexico, and moved to North Carolina with her family several years ago, believing that she would have a better chance for a transplant if she were in the U.S.
Jesica's condition has steadily deteriorated since the botched operation. She suffered a heart attack Feb. 10 and a seizure on Sunday, and is in critical condition now with a machine keeping her heart and lungs going.
"Right now my daughter is between life and death. She could die at any moment," said her mother, Magdalena Santillan, speaking through an interpreter earlier this week, appealing for new donor organs. "My daughter needs a transplant of a heart and lungs to survive. It's the only hope that we have because the doctors made an error."
Jesica, who is blood type O, mistakenly received organs that were blood type A.
Jesica's case reminds those in the organ donation community of two similar errors in the past - both at the hospital now called Oregon Health and Science University.
In 1994, according to organ network spokesman Bob Spieldenner, surgeons opened the chest of a 15-year-old, discovered a blood type error at the last minute, and closed him up without implanting the incompatible organ. He died ten days later.
Spieldenner says in 1991, a heart with the wrong blood type was transplanted into a patient. When the error was discovered, the patient was given a new heart - and survived.
At Duke University, hospital CEO Dr. William Fulkerson says the mistake made in Jesica's case is "a tragic error, and we accept responsibility for our part... This is an especially sad situation since we intended this operation to save the life of a girl whose prognosis was grave."
To prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again, the hospital says it has put in place new procedures including "multiple confirmations of donor match by members of the care team before the transplantation process begins and improved communications between Duke and the organ procurement organization."
Duke University Hospital spokesman Richard Puff could not specify how the mistake was made in Jesica's case. But he says the hospital staff believed the organs were compatible and that compatibility had been confirmed.
"This was a tragic event and our expectation is that, with these new procedures, this will not happen again," says Puff. "We've done thousands of organ transplants and it's never happened before."
The erroneously transplanted organs were flown in from Boston. They were sent with paperwork correctly listing the donor's type-A blood, said Sean Fitzpatrick of the New England Organ Bank, which sent the organs.
According to Carolina Donor Services, an organ procurement organization, the heart and lung became available from a donor in New England and were offered by the New England Organ Bank after being matched to two North Carolina patients on a national database.
Two Duke surgeons declined the organs but a third Duke surgeon requested them for Santillan, Carolina Donor Services said in a written statement late Tuesday. The organization did not identify the doctor.
Heart and lung transplants are rare for teenagers: in the first 11 months of last year, there were four nationwide for children between the ages of 11 and 17, UNOS' records show. The previous year, there were four.
Mahoney, a businessman in Louisburg, got involved after he read news reports of the girl's ailment and her family's lack of money. He and his wife joined community efforts to raise money to pay for her medical care, and Jesica's parents gave Mahoney power of attorney for their daughter.
"I've been trying to save this girl's life," says Mahoney. "It's been a fight all the way."
I just hope this operation goes well.
Faith.
