March 16, 2000
Federal rules controlling distribution of organs for transplants take effect today.
Some states will file lawsuits hoping to block the mandate.
Science Specialist Ed Yeates says for now, Utah is NOT part of that court action but will keep its options OPEN - waiting to see how the rules affect liver transplants here.
Two years ago, Darlene Hurdsman was in a Salt Lake hospital waiting for a liver transplant.
She was critically ill but because her condition had not yet deteriorated to multiple system failure, the transplant succeeded.
The same was true with Jeri Wehrli who got her new liver three years ago.
Jeri Wehrli / Transplant Recipient: "I WAS STILL WORKING. I WAS STILL ABLE - THE DOCTOR ENCOURAGED ME TO DO PHYSICAL THINGS TO STAY IN AS GOOD A CONDITION AS I COULD. SO THAT WHEN I RECEIVED THE LIVER I FELT LIKE I WAS ABLE TO BOUNCE BACK."
But the new federal guidelines will now mandate distribution of donated livers over a wider area to even sicker patients first.
John Sorensen, M.D. / Utah Transplant Surgeon: "THE HUGE, GROWING GROUP OF PEOPLE WAITING ON THE LIST WHO HAVE A VERY POOR OUTCOME."
Under the new rules, more livers donated here in Utah could go to California.
John Sorensen, M.D. / Utah Transplant Surgeon: "WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH LIVERS IN OUR OWN AREA TO SERVE THE POPULATION LET ALONE TRYING TO SUPPORT SOMEONE ELSE'S AREA."
But despite John Sorensen's concerns, he and his colleagues are willing to give the new mandate a test run, especially since the United Network for Organ Sharing has had a lot of input with the Government over the past year.
John Sorensen, M.D. / Utah Transplant Surgeon: "I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE HEARTBURN ABOUT SENDING A LIVER FROM HERE TO CALIFORNIA IF THERE IS A LEGITIMATE NEED OF A PATIENT IN CALIFORNIA - AND WE DON'T HAVE A SIMILAR NEED HERE."
But with pressure to comply with a "sicker" definition, some physicians may be tempted to change a patient's illness status simply to compete for the scarce supply.
The government also will not pay for all monitoring and paperwork now required under the mandate. Sorensen says that means the $300 fee charged to patients to get their names on a waiting list could jump to $3,000.
The United Network for Organ Sharing is currently drafting its own monitoring program - hoping to keep the government mandates fair for all states.
For More Information:
United Network For Organ Sharing Online
