Question

Below is a piece of an article which discusses one of thee many disputes which can come about when patients seek organ donation. it deals with a little girl named Sarah who desperately needed a double lung transplant but due to certain policies almost lost the opportunity to obtain it.

"Sarah’s family and the family of another cystic fibrosis patient at the same hospital challenged transplant policy that made children under 12 wait for pediatric lungs to become available or be offered lungs donated by adults only after adolescents and adults on the waiting list had been considered. They said pediatric lungs are rarely donated. The family challenged this policy and had Sarah placed on the adult donor list. Sarah’s aunt, Sharon Ruddock, said the donor lungs came in through normal channels as a result of being on the adult donor list. It was a direct result of the ruling that allowed her to be put on the adult list,” Ruddock said. “It was not pediatric lungs, she would have never gotten these lungs otherwise.” Before the ruling, Ruddock said, Sarah was “very close to the end. Maybe a week. Maybe two.”

You may read the full article at: http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2013/06/philadelphia_girl_at_center_of.html

Students what do you think of policies such as the one above being in place which make children wait on another list separate from adults and adolescents giving them preference to organ donations?

Answer 1

This article is good and saved life of Sarah by doing LTX.

The questions is asking students to view on the seperate list for children and adult, why preference is not given to children?

To answer these questions lets recall some facts from research.

An attitude of doubt by physician on LTX to children lies in some of the important but unknown facts that are particularly in children LTX. There is issue concerning to the growth of somatic system and development lungs itself. No one knows how childrens body will reflects to the LTX for the development of somatic system. Others are posttransplant care, rehabilitation, infectious risks, and the complexity of care required by these children. But no doubt we can say that those require LTX may survice with this LTX.

Research demonstrated that rejection by children after LTX is very less.

Hence, considering these facts, there is no doubt for putting children in adults waiting list for LTX if above care has been taken into consideration.