NEWS: Doctors Skip Over Own Patients to Give Liver to Saudi

Scandal rocked a Los Angeles hospital when it was disclosed that doctors skipped over wait list patients to give a liver transplant to a Saudi citizen who was 52nd on the list. The Saudi Embassy paid $339,000 for the surgery, much higher than what insurance companies pay for U.S. patients. The hospital has suspended its liver transplant program while the situation is being investigated.



This is an outrage! Not only did they accept what appears to be a bribe from a foreign nation, they falsified records to cover up their crime. I hope these doctors and everyone involved gets the most severe punishment allowed by law.



[edit on 9/28/2005 by djohnsto77]

[edit on 9/28/2005 by djohnsto77]

I guess Saudi are having BIG Priorities in the States and almost a Diplomatic Immunity under the Bush Administration.

I rememeber on 9-11 that ALL the planes were grounded - but not those that flew the Saudis - most Bin Laden Family - out of the States to Saudi Arabia.

I guess the Friendship between House of Bush and House of Saud really does not have any Limitations.

Great Find johnsto77!

Good to see that EVERYTHING is still being blamed on President Bush.

This frikn place never changes... why should I ever think that it would.

I need a drink.

Originally posted by elevatedone
Good to see that EVERYTHING is still being blamed on President Bush.

Ever Read the Book House of Bush - House of Saud?

I guess Not.

I Strongly Recommend that you do!

Maybe then news like this wont surprise you.

Money Talks,... - the rest you know.

I don't understand why everyone is so pissed. If an American got ahead of everyone in another country we would be praising the heck out of the country.

Originally posted by elevatedone
Good to see that EVERYTHING is still being blamed on President Bush.

This frikn place never changes... why should I ever think that it would.

I need a drink.

Man, im about like you, i left ATS for awhile because i was tired of threads that did nothing but bash bush, or bash americans. Same crap never changes.

Originally posted by Rikimaru
Man, im about like you, i left ATS for awhile because i was tired of threads that did nothing but bash bush, or bash americans. Same crap never changes.

Well I certainly never blamed Bush for this, that was Souljah.

In fact, it's pretty clear this was something done entirely by the hospital. The federal government is what uncovered the whole thing:

Source Article
Falsified records were subsequently submitted to the national agency that regulates transplants in the United States. The incident was discovered only after a recent routine audit by that agency.

Why does this surprise anyone?
I would have thought that this was normal in a private, for profit, healthcare system. If a hospital is a business then the overiding motivation of management is to maximise profit and shareholder equity. If someone is willing to put more money on the table for a good or service than someone else then the amount of money determines who gets that good or service.
No, I'm not being sarcastic.

So somebody screws up and the first thing that you do is to shut down your whole transplant program? Kind of throwing the baby out with the bathwater isn't it? Remember there are no laws about transplant lists. There is a voluntary listing system. The deal is simple. If you want to do transplants you agree to abide by the rules of this organization. The organization sets up the list and also administers the database of information on compatability. The article mentions that the person next on the list (also a Saudi) was out of town. The time that you have from removal of an organ until it must be implanted is measured in hours. I'd be kind of curious about the location of the third patient vs time left on the liver.

I worked for a small airport and used to make extra money helping out on charter flights of a Learjet. We did alot of quick delivery work, mainly stuff for the auto industry. Every once in a while we would deliver an organ for transplant. Once we flew a heart from Pittsburgh to Iowa for a transplant. We got there in plenty of time but the person needing the transplant couldn't get to the hospital in time. They ended up throwing the heart away as it had exceeded the time limit. The reason that I mentioned this is that there was a girl in Erie, Pennsylvania who was two places down on the list and was less than two hours away by car who died for the lack of a heart about a week later. I am not going to judge what those doctors did without more facts. Don't think that just because they were fired that they were in the wrong. That hospital could be distancing itself from the surgeons in case of a liability suit. Remember the hospital profitted from the operation as well. The whole organ donor situation needs to be revised.

Completely believeable (although thorougly disgusting) that a hospital and doctors give treatment preferences based on money. If you aren't rich, you should have been aware that this is how the world works for your whole life.

More disgusting than the truth of this story is the spin that immediately showed up here. I still believe that one of our purposes here is to "deny ignorance", not to charge blindly, headfirst into politically motivated ignorance....truly pathetic performance by those who did.

Jaryn

P.S. - djohnsto77 this is not directed at you for posting a news item.