Dying Teen Is Being Denied A Heart Transplant Because He’s Had Trouble With The Law

[Tx4obama]

Dying Teen Is Being Denied A Heart Transplant Because He’s Had Trouble With The Law

Fifteen-year-old Anthony Stokes has less than six months to live unless he receives an emergency heart transplant. But his family has been told that Anthony doesn’t qualify for the transplant list because he has a “history of non-compliance” — partly due to his history of earning low grades and having some trouble with the law.

“They said they don’t have any evidence that he would take his medicine or that he would go to his follow-ups,” Melencia Hamilton, Anthony’s mother, told WSBTV News. Hamilton explained that her son has an enlarged heart, and a transplant is the only thing that will help his condition.

The doctors at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta weren’t very specific about what exactly contributed to their decision to label Anthony as “non-compliant.” But family friends explained to WSBTV News that they were told it’s partly because of Anthony’s performance in school and run-ins with law enforcement.

His family and friends don’t accept that as a valid reason to deny the teen life-saving treatment. “We must save Anthony’s life,” family friend Mack Major, identified as Anthony’s mentor, told CBS Atlanta. “We don’t have a lot of time to do it, but it’s something that must be done.”

-snip-

Full article here: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/08/12/2453941/dying-teen-heart-transplant/

[WillyT]

1. This Country Has Lost Its Fucking Mind... Heart... And Soul...

& Rec !!!

[darkangel218]

33. .

...

[enough]

2. A strange idea of what makes a person have "value." You must be "compliant,"

you must not make trouble, you must not have trouble, you must follow the rules. Strange idea of what makes a human a human.

[WCGreen]

13. Just so you know, compliance is critical for a sucessfull transplant...

If you take a cavalier approach to your post operation regime, you will soon be dead...

Transplantable organs are hard to come by...

I have been getting ready to be listed for a double lung transplant and they make no doubt that if I test for any illegal drugs or even drink alcohol, I could be taken off the list...

[Swagman]

16. dupe

[Swagman]

18. this is true

my brother was down for a kidney transport but was basically told he was at the end of the queue because he was a persistent alcoholic and age 57 Eventually he died.

This particular story sounds awful and perhaps we need much more detail but I feel it may be true.

Good luck though with your health..

[Phentex]

50. The local news seemed to focus more on his willingness to take his medicine correctly...

the internet story seems to be focused on his criminal past.

I think there must be more to this but you know which part is going to be more sensational.

[ejpoeta]

51. didn't some rich famous person get a transplant a few years ago?

One with years of drinking or something? Can't remember who.

[Borchkins]

57. Larry Hagman?

B

[gollygee]

103. Mickey Mantle

That was in the 90s.

[WCGreen]

225. All I know is that the Cleveland Clinic has a blind process...

The transplant team presents the candidate to the review board and then we are given a rating that determine when you will get the call.


Mantle received a liver transplant at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, on June 8, 1995. His liver was severely damaged by alcohol-induced cirrhosis, as well as hepatitis C. Prior to the operation, doctors also discovered he had inoperable liver cancer known as an undifferentiated hepatocellular carcinoma, further facilitating the need for a transplant.[43][44] In July, he had recovered enough to deliver a press conference at Baylor, and noted that many fans had looked to him as a role model. "This is a role model: Don't be like me," a frail Mantle said. He also established the Mickey Mantle Foundation to raise awareness for organ donations. Soon, he was back in the hospital, where it was found that his cancer was rapidly spreading throughout his body.

Though Mantle was very popular, his liver transplant was a source of some controversy. Some felt that his fame had permitted him to receive a donor liver in just one day,[45] bypassing other patients who had been waiting for much longer. Mantle's doctors insisted that the decision was based solely on medical criteria, but acknowledged that the very short wait created the appearance of favoritism.[46] While he was recovering,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mantle

If you recall, David Crosby was also involved in a cotroversial Liver Transplant...

Crosby was the recipient of a highly-publicized liver transplant in 1994, which was paid for by Phil Collins.[5] News of his transplant created some controversy because of his celebrity status and his past issues with drug and alcohol addiction.[6][7][8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Crosby

I also have a history of Alcohol and Drug abuse. I have been clean and sober since 1985. I quit smoking in 1986. I have been clean and sober so long I bet there is no trace of any controlled substance left in my body.

[magical thyme]

194. David Crosby, John Phillips, Phil Lesh...

a bunch of 60s musicians, alcoholics and also some with HCV.

[REP]

200. Livers can be donated from living donors (lobes); hearts not so much

[magical thyme]

205. I'm aware of that. that wasn't always the case, however.

Transplantation of a lobe from live donors started around 1990. It is very risky for the donor, with up to a 1% risk of dying, but also some risk of serious complications, and requires months for the donors to fully recover.

[jtuck004]

21. If they told you that they would take you off the list because you talked back to your boss, or

didn't read well, it might feel somewhat different. Compliance with things which might chemically compromise your results is one thing. Non-compliance because you are uppity is another.

He is 15,and probably not much different than most 15 years olds. He is also black, which ups his chances for "encounters with the law" for no other reason than his skin color, which a court said that New York State had codified, and writing that into the law was unconstitutional as performed, that they had violated the rights of tens of thousands of people. Of color. And I suspect it is not much different where he lives, whether written into the law or not, eh?

I would really like to see the list of white kids that have been denied for the same reason.

[WCGreen]

34. I have to point out that I have been prepping for the transplant or close to 10 years...

The center I go for care is a hub for all transplants, the main campus of the Cleveland Clinic. I have to tell you I have seen thousands of people going through the rigorous testing process. It is as multi-cultured as any place I have ever been.

I don't know all the details and I would gather you do not either. For all you know there are 17 black kids getting kidney transplants.

Beside that, you can be your bottom dollar that there was a hint of racial preference, the hospital could, more than likely, be fighting in court in order to keep their certification.

It's not always about race...

[jtuck004]

37. Nobody said it was always about race. But I bet it's a lot more than most white people want to admit

and it wouldn't surprise me at all if it was the case here.

Still, like I said, I would like to see the list of white 15 years olds that have been turned away (One would think that parents of white kids in the same situation would become just as outraged, yet a cursory search of a couple of search engines doesn't seem to net much of anything), because they had bad grades, or how the fact that black students more often have the police called on them than white students for the same behavior might be looked at, or the fact that black males who are doing nothing illegal are accosted by the police far more often than whites are. And sometimes even shot by the village idiot, whereupon a bunch of white people find reasons to call the stalker innocent, while a white attorney waves around pictures of the scary black kid.

We even have evidence that black families in 2006-2008 being charged higher interest rates than whites with the same credit rating and equivalent jobs. On the other hand, they were treated fairly when they were foreclosed on by the thousands, I guess.

And a whole freakin' rodeo full of people, egged on by the School Superintendent, just finished applauding a clown in a black-face Obama mask performing as a buffoon - they felt that comfortable with the obvious racism.

We have whole states now making laws that are intended to disenfranchise entire areas of mostly black voters.

Sometimes, a lot of the time, it really is about race.

But good luck with yours!!

[WCGreen]

116. How in the world did you miss that this is being discussed as a racial issue...

Well, in my 10 years of being in the transplant program, I was monitored closely with tons of blood testing to prove I was not using drugs, keeping a good diet. Lately, as my health was failing, I was told I needed to loose some of the weight I gained due to diminished ability to exercise at the pace I had been. I would not be considered until I lost at least 10-15 lbs. My coordinator said the only reason I am still in the program was because of my 10 years of history within the program...

[jtuck004]

117. Don't see where I missed anything. But it sounds like you are doing well. Good luck!! n/t

[Ms. Toad]

55. I saw the story and was about to come add something similar.

There is a shortage of organs, and far too many people dying on the waiting list. Not everyone who needs a heart will receive one, so they need to do the best they can to predict who will take care of the gift of life.

Failure to stick to a pretty strict regimen of medicine for the rest of one's life is critical to avoid rejection. If you aren't motivated enough to follow rules or your current medical regime when you are on the verge of dying, it will be even harder once you begin feeling well again.

I do think there should be some leeway for children - whose brains are not developed well enough to always make good choices. But even so it sounds to me as if this kid would fall on the wrong side of it.

Best of luck with getting listed. We haven't gone through it yet - but we almost certainly will at some point.

[Orrex]

60. That post trumps all others in this thread

I'll take your 10 years of experience over anybody else's fifteen seconds spent reading an article and hitting the OUTRAGE button.


In addition to all else, I wonder what they mean when they say he was denied "partly" because of his history of non-compliance and trouble with the law. What other factors are at play, I wonder?

[Aerows]

72. Absolutely it is

and you need to have help. It's not something you can do by yourself, either. I lived with a heart transplant patient, my uncle. He moved in with us afterwards because he simply couldn't do it by himself. He had some great years after the transplant, but it required a lot of medication and a fairly strict regimen.

This isn't simply getting a replacement and going on as normal by a LONG shot.

[Horse with no Name]

105. With that being said...and you are 100% correct

but...the MOST noncompliant ages for any transplant recipient are in the teen years. They are struggling with identity and authority...typical stuff.

Which is why when you do a transplant on a child...you ALWAYS warn the parents about the teen years because those children generally rebel as teenagers against their medical regimens.

I find it odd that the transplant coordinators are aware of this trend...yet seek to punish this boy for doing something boys his age always do.
Just SMH at the entire thing.

If we can forgive the transgressions of a war criminal....

[LisaL]

227. If he doesn't take his meds, his transplanted heart will get rejected and he will die.

It's not about punishment. It's about making sure transplant has a best chance of success.

[Horse with no Name]

238. the point is...that there is a consistent issue with ALL teens

that have received transplants and the adherence to their medication regimes.

They generally rely on the parents to enforce them.

If we take that into consideration with every transplant patient...then nobody would get transplanted until they were at least 25.

The point is moot however, the kid is listed now...as he should have always been. There is something that is DEEPLY disturbing about this though and I highlighted it-how can he be considered non-compliant IF he has never been ill or had medications previously??

http://www.12newsnow.com/story/23133917/teen-added-to-transplant-list-after-originally-denied

>>>However, with no history of illness or previous medications prescribed, Hamilton believes her son was being punished for having a criminal record.

The teen was under house arrest and wearing an ankle monitor when his heart condition was discovered in the hospital's ER.

"He's a young boy. He's going to make mistakes, but I still think he deserves a second chance," said Hamilton.

[riderinthestorm]

127. My sister is 18 months into a full recovery from a double kidney/liver transplant

I was #1 on her support team at Cal Pacific Med in San Francisco. I was there for every meeting and the entire month post-surgery (missed the actual surgery because I live near Chicago and was flying to SF as she was in surgery).

You are absolutely spot on.

This has nothing to do with race and everything to do with being able to comply with the protocols the transplant team spell out very clearly in your contract.

As you know even some innocuous things are verboten depending on your particular transplant. In my sister's case even some candy like licorice would have booted her off the list. For others its simple things like peanut butter. For virtually all of them it includes pot, even medical mj. Most of this is because the post-transplant drug regime is so strict, they must know that you are compliant before they even implant that precious organ(s) because the anti-rejection meds are incredibly tricky to balance.

The hospital pharmacist was as important a member of her post-surgical team as anyone and she was at every major meeting, fiddling with the drugs to ensure there was no rejection.

I hope you get your organs. Good luck...

[Aerows]

136. Blessings to you and your family

I know what it was like for my uncle, and I hope that things have improved since then. Either way, it's not an easy road, and diet, medication and everything that comes along with being on the anti-rejection medication is a hard thing.

It isn't for everyone, and you need a village to care for a person going through it - like you say, even the pharmacist is a necessary and desperately needed member of the group.

[WCGreen]

224. I should be listed by late September...

They have told me I will be looking for the better part of a year.

I have one thing going for me; I am use to keeping track of stuff since I am an accountant.

Thank you....

[Yo_Mama]

23. A total misunderstanding

The patient must be willing and able to follow through with the necessary post-transplant care and routine, or it's a waste of time, money or effort, which could have been spent on a patient who can benefit.

Transplant operations are not in-and-out medical treatments. There has to be medical monitoring and adherence to a medical regime. A patient who cannot or will not be able to follow through with the routine will not have a good outcome.

When it's a little kid, the parent or guardian is evaluated for compliance. By the time the patient becomes a teenager, the patient is the focus. Teenagers often have trouble with compliance.

[enough]

206. Of course I understand the concept of medical compliance and I understand its importance.

The article seems to be saying that he was rejected for various other reasons outside the realm of potential medical compliance. That is the reason the rejection is being questioned, not because people don't understand the medical concept of "compliance."

Actually, there is a possibility that isn't being considered in the article, which is that the medical people who made the decision did not adequately explain their reasons to the relatives of the boy, and, also likely, that the relatives are in such a state of anxiety that they were not able to understand what was being said and misunderstood the reasons for rejection.

[Yo_Mama]

214. More reasonable

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/noncompliance-teen-barred-heart-transplant-list-article-1.1425368

According to this article the decision was explained. The family may legitimately have issues with the determination.

However, if he has indeed not been following medical orders, he would obviously never be placed on the list. And the odds are high that the history of noncompliance involved has occurred since his hospitalization in mid July.
http://news.rapgenius.com/Childrens-healthcare-of-atlanta-letter-to-the-family-of-anthony-stokes-denying-heart-transplant-lyrics

I strongly suspect that the family is being disingenuous, because medically speaking, the only thing "a history of non-compliance" would mean for a 15 year old who was previously healthy would be his behavior in the hospital or testing positive for illegal drugs, and outside behavioral issues would only come into the determination as demonstrating that it was not just the shock of the diagnosis, but a longer-term behavioral pattern.

In short, we're being lied to about something. EITHER this hospital has several staffers (because this type of evaluation involves multiple people) who just don't like the kid and are making things up, OR in fact the kid has displayed behavior implying that he just can't deal with the the post-op routine. Or perhaps he has indications of drug or alcohol abuse.

It seems to me that this is an orchestrated media campaign designed to convince the public that the decision has been made on utterly unreasonable grounds without a shred of evidence. Well, if he were my kid I'd probably do the same thing, and after looking at the pictures, if I had a vote I'd vote to give him a shot. But I'd probably be wrong to do so.

The hospital cannot give the grounds for its decision. To pass on the slander/libel campaign is a rotten deed, IMO, because it probably will cut donations and diminish support for patients, not to mention blurring the very important information for those who might find themselves in this situation that you have to toe the medical line to get a chance. So I won't do it and I don't respect anyone who does do it, unless they do it out of pure ignorance.

The bright spot here is that the decision is not final, so maybe the hospital is hoping to get things pulled together so that they can put him on the list.

[Recursion]

46. Compliant with the treatment regimen. It's pretty important (nt)

[magical thyme]

191. compliance within medicine refers to whether or not a patient is likely to take their medicine,

follow their prescribed diet, etc. Outcomes depend on patient compliance. And one thing that President Obama has pushed is reimbursing hospitals based on patient outcomes.

So, for example, we had diabetic in the ED a few weeks in full-blown diabetic ketoacidosis with a blood pH of 6.9. (Below 7.0 is "not compatible with life" according to my MLT program director.)

A diabetic cannot go on a drinking binge without potentially dire consequences.That person was referred to as "non-compliant" for going on a life-threatening drinking binge.

You can rail on about the requirement that people "obey the rules," but the bottom line is that nature doesn't care. If you break certain rules, you will pay a certain price. If you have type 1 diabetes and you go on a drinking binge, you will end up in the ED and you may not survive. And if you have a heart transplant and you skip taking your medicine or whatever, you are less likely to survive.

You're welcome to break all the rules you want. Just don't think there won't be a price to pay. In the case of certain health issues, that price may well be your life.

And in the case of transplants, where there are more people in need of organs than there are organs, likelihood of compliance becomes a factor because the likely outcome is a factor in deciding who gets the organ.

The main problem I have is when they break rules for celebrities and 1%ers. I personally don't think Cheney should have been at the top of a list for a new heart. And there have been famous alcoholic celebrities who were given new livers. That bothers me, however much I may have liked their work.

[REP]

199. If you're not medically compliant, an organ goes to waste

"Compliant" means something less sinister in medical speak: it means taking all prescribed meds on time all the time; following dietary restrictions (including alcohol and street drugs); showing up for routine health appointments so meds can be adjusted as needed, etc.

I am an extremely compliant PATIENT; citizen ... not so much.

[indepat]

211. It's like we all must be good little Germans, never questioning anything

big brother does or wants, no matter how illegal, how inhumane, how destructive or wasteful, or how unconstitutional: big brother knows best and will keep you safe from terra. You might starve, die from a noxious environment, die from some curable ailment, or be gunned down on the street, but big brother will keep you safe from terra.

[1awake]

3. So who get's to weigh which life meets "worthy of saving" status? Disgraceful... n/t

[Yo_Mama]

25. It's not whether the life is worthy of saving, it's whether it can be saved

If the program has a strong indication that a patient can't or won't follow through with the treatment program, it literally won't work.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

44. I'm grateful it's not me, but someone has to. There's nothing disgraceful about it at all.

We have enough transplants to save some of the people who need them, but not all of them.

If we're going to save anyone, that decision has to be made.

And "how likely is it to succeed" seems like a reasonable thing to factor in to the choice.

[Recursion]

47. Welcome to the world of organ transplantation

There's doctors whose only job is that, day in and day out.

[MicaelS]

134. The doctors doing the transplants.

You have 10 people that need an organ and only 3 organs to transplant. What do you do?

[Jefferson23]

4. What you have here is a new low in America's health care. No evidence he would take his meds.

Incredible.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

17. Please read post #13 for the facts. n/t

[Jefferson23]

222. I appreciate reading what he posted, thank you. My concern for this young teen and many others

in his situation is the incredible subjective approach apparently used to make such a determination. Hence
my comment, this is a new low in American health care. I do understand the demands for organs do not
match the supply...nevertheless, this child has not necessarily been given a fair assessment.

snip* Not only is noncompliance detrimental to transplant recipient morbidity and survival, but, with the limited availability of donor organs, the decision about which patients should receive an organ or undergo subsequent transplantation if their graft is lost because of a history of noncompliance is highly discussed.[3] However, many clinicians believe that compliance should not be the sole determinant for access to transplantation if the causes of noncompliance are treatable.[6,

http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/512906

[Yo_Mama]

30. Teenageers often don't

Because of that, they tend to have much worse outcomes.

Of course, you don't say to a kid "we won't give you an organ because you won't comply because you are a teenager", after all, some teenagers do, but these programs do evaluate prospective recipients for the ability and willingness to comply with the necessary routine, which includes following all sorts of instructions, going to all your followups, and staying on the medications, which can have nasty side effects.

You can be rejected for a transplant because of all sorts of behaviors, such as smoking, drug use, being too fat, or just having a history of not following your doctor's orders or showing up for appointments. There are attempts underway to figure out how to improve compliance in teens, because it's a known problem:
http://www.chop.edu/service/transplant-center/pediatric-transplant-research/adolescent-adherence-research.html

Now I have no idea whether this poor kid would in fact take the medications at the times necessary and go through the necessary medical harassment. But if it appears that you have an uncooperative patient, it is not unreasonable to conclude that transplantation has little chance of success.

[Ms. Toad]

56. And not only little chance of success

But there are probably 10 others similarly desperate for that heart. Giving it to someone who has demonstrated issues with compliance likely means one of the others dies because there aren't enough hearts for everyone who needs one.

[Yo_Mama]

59. Yes, the question is whether the determination here is correctly made,

but not whether such an evaluation should occur.

Adults deemed to be unlikely to comply are also routinely denied transplants.

[Ms. Toad]

61. Another article says he failed to take his medication in the past -

but that the parents believe it is bad grades and run-ins with the law that are the real reason (not that the hospital suggested those reasons).

A history of failure to take meds is a common reason for not being placed on the transplant list - and one I agree with because transplant recipients trade a failing organ for essentially another chronic illness which must be treated with a lifetime of anti-rejection drugs. And once you are feeling better, the motivation to take your meds is less - so the fact that you aren't motivated to take them at a point when you can feel your life slipping away does not bode well for a lifetime of compliance.

[Yo_Mama]

64. Yes, that's the "history of non-compliance" that matters here

The hospital doesn't care whether he spray-painted a building, but the doctors know full well that patients who don't take their immunosuppressive drugs will have graft rejection.

When you agree to a transplant, you also agree to a lifetime of rather aggressive medical treatment. If this poor kid has not been compliant with his treatment routine in the recent past, the doctors have every reason to expect that they cannot help the boy.

[Ms. Toad]

67. I have a daughter who will need a transplant someday

these threads drive me nuts because they tug at people's hearts and get people all riled up typically without sharing why compliance is so critical.

[Yo_Mama]

75. I'm so sorry - how old is she?

That's a very intimidating thing to have to face, and I certainly understand why this type of discussion would disturb you. It's likely to kill people.

If we collectively understand what successful transplantation involves, then we can collectively get much better outcomes for a lot more people.

The good news is that there are huge advances in immunosuppressive therapy. The bad news is that if a patient isn't fully motivated to adhere to the therapy, once graft-host disease begins it is quite hard to mitigate.

The perspective in this thread seems almost to be that transplantation is an in-out procedure, like having your transmission replaced in your car, and that if it's done right, the patient just waltzes off happily to live life. But this isn't true, and the largest barrier to success in transplantation is a lack of followup resources. We could do more of this at less cost with better outcomes if everyone had access
to the resources they needed after transplantation.

For patients who are able to follow through, the outcomes these days are very good.

[Ms. Toad]

83. She's 23.

She will likely need a liver someday (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis). They are about 6 years away from being able to create artificial livers from stem cells - which would eliminate the need for anti-rejection drugs. I'm hoping she can hold out that long.

Although transplants (and dealing with the post-transplant changes) are getting much better, her disease is pretty complex. About 20% with PSC have the disease recur post transplant - not to mention the cancers which her illnesses put her at risk for (liver, pancreatic, bile duct, colon, and gall bladder). And cancer in combination with anti-rejection drugs is not pretty.

But yes - that seems to be the perspective every time these conversations come up - in/out with no concept that it is an extremely complex, life-long treatment.

[Yo_Mama]

99. I am sorry, that is a rough one

They are making huge progress on growing organs. I hope she gets the time, but if she doesn't, the liver transplant will buy her time to wait for that.

That's very young for that diagnosis. How long has she been symptomatic?

[Ms. Toad]

110. Since late middle school

They are discovering that it is likely multiple conditions with similar presentations. The number of pediatric diagnoses is growing, and they seem to follow a different pattern (more severe rapid progression, more auto-immune disorders, and vancomycin tends to put PSC in remission - as well as sometimes putting accompanying IBD in remission). I know a number of kids who were diagnosed in the 4-10 range, and even one who was diagnosed ~ age 2.

Even though my daughter clearly had PSC as a child (she had the really intense liver itching by 9th grade - although we didn't know that is what it was), she seems to be following the more adult pattern. She was one of the people in the first adult trial of vancomycin. Despite 100% success among kids who were not yet cirrhotic, the adult response has been mixed - and my daughter had a mild response, but not sufficient to make it worth all of the public health risks which go along with taking vancomycin as a maintenance med.

But even though the pediatric population is growing, PSC is still not well known among pediatric doctors. I had to lead her doctor by the nose to the diagnosis when she was 19 because she was not a 40 year old male. (Almost literally - I had to ask her college doctors to run a liver panel, and when it came back high then had to push her GI doc to run a GGT rather than watching and waiting another 6 months.)

[Butterbean]

122. Thank you to you and Yo Mama. n/t

[Politicalboi]

5. So only in America

If he went to jail, he would probably get the transplant.

[NCTraveler]

125. Only in America.

You are clearly not aware of how transplants work in a lot of the world. We have one of the best systems. Flawed? yes. Very good? yes.

[hue]

154. Just FYI: In most other countries usually only the very rich get transplanted-it's a corrupt system!

In 3rd world countries the very poor sell their kidneys or other organs of those who have passed away--they are desperate!
In China political prisoners are typed & screened and their organs are harvested fresh when a recipient--usually someone up in the party, needs one. At times they are sold to high bidders who have the organs flown to other countries to wealthy recipients.

Mass donor organ fraud shakes Germany

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/09/mass-donor-organ-fraud-germany

How Corrupt Governments Make a Killing on Human Organs


http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/01/07/human-organ-trafficking-is-big-business-in-kosovo-china/

[sheshe2]

6. Is it Racial?

From your link.

Regardless of Anthony’s specific past, his story fits into a larger pattern of racially-motivated skepticism about young black men. The routine criminalization of black youth — thanks in large part to the so-called “school-to-prison pipeline,” which funnels a disproportionate number of black teens into the justice system for minor infractions — ensures that teens like Anthony are often seen as threats. And once society labels those kids as criminal, suspect, or “non-compliant,” their lives are typically considered to have less value.

Sounds like it.

Thanks Tx.

[MotherPetrie]

7. Sounds like it to me too.

[joeglow3]

95. Or, is it because he has refused to take his meds?

I don't see the issue here.

[riderinthestorm]

132. Its not. As a first hand observer of the system, I know its not

The MELD system of scoring that places one on the list is about as objective as it can get. Compliance is one factor that figure into that score. There are many, many others.

Please don't perpetuate stereotypes about this or people may not become donors. We are in desperate need of donors and don't need false information out there.

[sheshe2]

142. I appreciate your sharing that information, rider.

Thank you, I stand corrected.

sheshe

[Motown_Johnny]

8. Death Panel. n/t

[n2doc]

9. And yet they gave Darth Cheney a new one n/t

[MADem]

27. Darth Cheney has an overlord who will ensure his compliance.

His wife makes the waiters take away the "turf" from the surf and turf on his dinner plate, and stabs Old Shooter's hand with her fork if he tries to sneak and eat off her plate. She's draconian.

I've seen the two of them up close, before he was VP, and he does what she tells him. She is ... formidable, but not in a nice way.

[JimDandy]

28. Talk about non-compliance! n/t

[marble falls]

10. Sounds like the kid isn't the only one in need of a heart.

[jtuck004]

11. Is he black? n/t

[avebury]

12. Yup. nt

[kiva]

148. Perhaps you should read the comments

here from people who actually have experience with transplant issues before you jump to 'racist' as you default assumption.

[jtuck004]

175. Perhaps you should actually talk to me before presuming what is in my head. n/t

[kiva]

187. Fair enough.

What relevance is it to you if he is black? Multiple people upthread who have had actual experience with the whole transplant system have said that it's not about race, but about compliance with medical necessities, and I notice that you have disagreed with them.

If there is any bias in the system, from reading the comments, it's toward teenagers because of the reasons people have mentioned; and honestly, given the sparsity of donated organs I can understand the thinking, though I think it's a sad situation.

[jtuck004]

195. Glad you asked, yet you still take the self-righteous tack that it's ok for YOU to make an

assumption and try to take me to task for doing the same fucking thing. I could take the wrinkles out of my clothes with such irony. So stick it in your ear.

From your high-horse perhaps it's hard to see that I could have been asking about biology and how that might impact it...

"Across the board, if you look at the 15 leading causes of death in the U.S., blacks have higher death rates than whites in about 12 of them, including heart disease, cancer and stroke," said David Williams, the Norman professor of public health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

More Here.

On the other hand, your head-in-the-sand approach of pretending that it isn't likely in a situation where there is no accusation of overeating while sick or self-medicating, only behavior, one is right to wonder, and perhaps be offended, and perhaps take action against the appearance of racism. Only an idiot or a Teaparty Republican would argue that it doesn't pervade everything we do. Hell, there was a whole rodeo crowd cheering on a clown in a black-face mask just this week, and unless one has been under a rock in a Geico commercial, they've probably heard about it. The announcer was the SUPERINTENDENT OF THE FREAKIN' SCHOOLS.

Which brings me back to my point. Racism in the schools is nothing new. Ever read Jonathan Kozol? He wrote about his experience as a new teacher in Boston, where they kept vinegar-soaked switches in the basement for the black kids, because, he was told. "their skins are tougher, you know".

But we are more civilized than that now, aren't we? Because now we just have them arrested, in much higher numbers, for much the same behavior as white kids - unless one wants to argue that blacks "behave worse", which would lead me to wonder if Louie Gohmert has a login here

Black students being arrested from school, for behaviors that are no different from the white kids, is a growing phenomenon, so much so that it has a new name: The School-to-Prison Pipeline. It doesn't garner near the public outrage that the one to carry shale oil does, which hasn't even been built yet, yet it is destroying the lives of thousands of families, and is very profitable for corporations.

Last year, 75 percent of the students arrested in Chicago’s public schools were black, according to new research conducted by Loyola University and Project NIA.

The study provides a total racial breakdown on arrests in 2012: That year, 3,240 black students were arrested, along with 889 Latinos, and 136 white students. What’s more, the numbers of arrests varied hugely from district to district, with one district, the eighth, accounting for a total of 461 arrests.

These statistics add to the growing evidence that the so-called “school-to-prison pipeline” — a phenomenon in which students are funneled into the criminal justice system for mere disciplinary violations — can have disproportionate racial impacts. Similar complaints have arisen in other schools across the country. In Mississippi, children were sometimes arrested and locked up for for infractions as minor as violating the dress code, with black and disabled students experiencing a disproportionate share of the draconian punishment.
...

More here.

And this is nothing unique to Chicago - this happens in schools all across the nation, but even more so in the East, and the South. And we haven't even touched on the Court decision this week which says the police violated the rights of tens of thousands of black Americans with New York's stop-and-fuck-wth-the-black-man program, a strategy which is followed by many departments, who don't give it a name lest they be taken to court and chastised as well. Especially since they shoot and kill a few that never make it to prison.

Those are just the obvious ones that indicate being black, alone, may sentence one to hardship, tragedy, and/or death.

Given that, I don't think it is unreasonable to wonder if racism is playing a part here.

ymmv.

[alp227]

14. Where is the "PRO LIFE" movement? N/t

[npk]

157. Their heads are stuck up some woman's uterus.

You know priorities.

[blackspade]

15. This is obsene.

[GreenStormCloud]

180. FACT: If he gets the heart, some other young person doesn't get the heart.

How do YOU decide who gets the heart and who doesn't?

[blackspade]

203. Fact: If he doesn't get it he dies.

If he is going to die then he should get it.

Making the decision based on his grades? A run in with the law, that as a juvenile, should be sealed anyway?
I guess the heart should go to a well off, privileged kid instead?
So, now we make life and death decisions based on future education and earning potential?

This smacks of eugenics.

[GreenStormCloud]

207. You ducked the question.

Someone is going to die. How do YOU decide who does and doesn't?

If you will read the thread posts by people who have been through the procedure, compliance is critical to survival. If he doesn't comply with the medical instructions and treatments, then he will die after to transplant, and the heart will be wasted. But you will get to feel self-righteous.

[blackspade]

212. You know, I'm not sure why you are being so fucking hostile.

I expressed my opinion about the news story.
And I answered your question, you just chose to ignore it is your own self righteousness.

[GreenStormCloud]

216. You said it was obscene that he wasn't getting a heart.

You didn't look at the situation before you made a moral judgement. You act like there are lots of hearts on a shelf waiting to be installed. The fact is that there aren't enough. There are about 3,000 people on the waiting list, and only about 2,000 hearts available annually. And there are many who are not put on the waiting list because getting a heart would not save their life. Because this kid is non-complient with the medical procedures, a heart would not save his life. The heart would be wasted as he would die anyway. But you want him to get a heart, even though it would mean someone else would die and he would still die. And then you pat yourself on the back for your great compassion, even though your way results in an extra death of a young person.

What is obscene is wanting such a decision to be made on the basic of emotion instead of logic.

[blackspade]

218. You said it was obscene that he wasn't getting a heart.

Exactly. That was my opinion.
And I am well aware of the paucity of hearts and other organs for transplants.

And based on the story his 'non-compliance' was based on his school performance and law enforcement interaction, neither of which should be part of medical compliance issues. Based on the story your assertions about this kid have no basis in fact.
It has nothing to do with patting myself on the back about my compassion. Your condemning this kid to death based on nothing other than some other kid/adult might be saved as well. So your 'logic' fails in this case.

It is a moot point since the hospital reversed their decision.

[GreenStormCloud]

220. The parents, NOT the hospital, said that poor schoolwork was the reason for non-complience.

The hospital is saying that he has not been following doctor's instructions and has been missing doctor's appointments. Since he will almost certainly keep that same attitude after a transplant, the new heart will fail and he will die. And with him will also die someone who would have taken care of the new heart.

The parents are trying to create political pressue to override a medical decision.

[blackspade]

223. Well it worked because he is staying on the transplant list.

If you have further info about hospital's position, I'd like a link.
I might be persuaded at that point.
Without that everything you are saying is merely you opinion and supposition.

[mountain grammy]

19. This is nothing new, and it's inevitable.

In most cases, the patient dies quietly from his/her failed heart, liver, lungs, whatever could be replaced if there were enough to go around. Death panels have existed as long as there have been transplants.

What would you do? How could you decide? I wouldn't want to make those choices, couldn't imagine how. Except, maybe, in one case. I would have loved to have decided the case of Dick Cheney. He wouldn't have gotten his heart and I would have slept like a baby.

[Lancero]

20. Honestly?

Hospital's tend to use the organs for those who they believe will accomplish the most in life, or those who they believe will not engage in risky behavior. Since he's a kid, all they really can base his life's accomplishments on are his educational achievements. The story doesn't specify what encounters he had with the law so I can't really comment on that.

Sucks that he isn't getting a heart, but with as rare as these organs are to come by? As long as the child isn't denied based on race, gender, or orientation I could care less what criteria they use to decide who gets the organ.

You know whats ironic about this case though? Odd's are that the majority of those who are outraged over this are not part of the organ donor program. They get angered over a person being denied a life-saving transplant, yet they are not willing to donate their organs upon death to be used in transplants. Hypocrisy in my mind.

[Egnever]

24. I have always felt it should be mandatory

I totally understand why it isnt but since my first drivers license I have always checked the box.

[Lancero]

26. Similar

My opinion is that if you want a transplant, you have to be a part of the donor program.

Seems the right thing to do - You benefit from the death of a person, and when you die so shall people benefit from you. Take and give - You've taken a organ, now you must give yours upon death.

I've looked to see if this is already a requirement, but I can't find anything on it.

Edit - I know of living donors, but the ones that we are really in need of are those that can only be taken on death.

[Ms. Toad]

71. Most of the organ recipients I know

(or potential organ recipients) are. My daughter has been since age 16 and learned at age 19 she will need a liver. She is still an organ donor (as are most of the others we know with her disease).

Not only that, but the family members of organ recipients also are - because everyone intimately connected to a transplant knows how severe the organ shortage is.

That said, I don't believe it should be mandatory. It is a personal decision.

[SamKnause]

32. Transplant 2

How would your loved ones feel if your heart was now beating in the chest of Dick Cheney ?

I like you have always checked that box.

When it is time to check that box at my next drivers license renewal I will be leaving it blank.

Giving that war criminal and war profiteer a heart was a travesty.

[Egnever]

35. That would suck

but for every Cheney there are thousands of folks like this kid. I will take my chances and hell I ill be dead anyway what difference will it make at that point.

[Ms. Toad]

69. Thank you -

from the parent of a daughter who will one day need a liver.

[Captain Stern]

49. How would you feel?

How would you feel if one of your loved ones died waiting for a transplant.........because a compatible would-be donor didn't like Dick Cheney?

[Ms. Toad]

70. Thank you. n/t

[Ms. Toad]

73. I wouldn't like it -

But he went through the same process as everyone else did and from the publicly available records does not seem to have gotten any special preference (his wait was far longer than average at the transplant center where he received his heart).

And - I would like it far less if my daughter dies because you don't like Cheney.

[joeglow3]

96. Wow. Fuck over a kid or someone in need because you don't like Cheney

Talk about a petulant spoiled child...

[NCTraveler]

128. You would have still added a heart to the mix.

So what if Cheney gets your heart. He was going to get one anyway. You adding one to the mix will mean that someone else will also be getting one. Your line of thought is simple, cold, and callous.

[Aerows]

140. Well said, NCTraveler.

Well said.

[Codeine]

139. A person will possibly die because of your petulance.

Beyond pathetic.

[RedCappedBandit]

219. Even if yours went to Cheney, that means another went to someone else.

[Xithras]

186. Not mandatory, but it should be opt-out.

If people want to say no because it violates whatever personal values they hold, then let them. But an adult should specifically have to DECLINE to be a donor through a box on their license, a living will, or some other legal mechanism. If you haven't opted out, you should be treated as a donor.

Most people don't like thinking about dying, and there have been plenty of surveys indicating that people don't check the box because they don't want to think about the implications. They don't care one way or the other, they just don't want to think about it. By reversing the paradigm, you can make that same fact work FOR donations. If they don't want to think about it, they're a donor. If they HAVE pondered their mortality and don't want to be a donor for some reason, they can opt-out.

[laundry_queen]

197. I totally agree. Opt out, not in.

Most people don't care one way or the other, as you said, it's easier not to think about it. With an opt out, then the people who are adamantly against it would have to put in some effort. This would solve so many issues, I don't know why the system isn't like this. Everyone I know talks about how this would make more sense.

[Egnever]

22. Sadly these choices must be made

until we have enough hearts to go around someone is going to be on the losing end.

[SamKnause]

29. Transplant

I think Dick Cheney deserved and earned his place to be on the losing end.

[Egnever]

31. Couldnt agree more

Sadly half the county still sees him as some sort of hero. Bush they seem to be able to take or leave but somehow the man behind the curtain never lost his luster.

[quadrature]

36. the Death Panel has spoken ...nt

[Sotf]

38. Sounds very one sided...

"They said they don’t have any evidence that he would take his medicine or that he would go to his follow-ups,”

Sounds like a nice way to say that up to this point he hasn't taken his medicine or gone to his appointments...

[Ms. Toad]

66. Another article confirms that.

He has been non-compliant with medication in the past. Medication compliance is critical post-transplant.

[Warpy]

39. They don't think they can count on him to take his medications

and do all the lifestyle things required of transplant recipients and they're probably right.

The psychological evaluation before transplant is even considered weeds out a lot of people on whom salvaged organs would be a waste.

It's sad seeing a kid die, but the only way he'd keep up with the complicated regimen is if he was in prison and somebody else was handing him the pills and getting on his case about exercise.

[mwrguy]

40. non-compliant = non-white

Just another code word.

[Sotf]

68. Based on what?

Do you think that the article that says that there was a history of non-compliance taking medication was forged?

[Ms. Toad]

79. In the realm of organ transplants, you are wrong.

non-compliant = doesn't follow doctor's orders

In this case, this child had a history of not taking his medicine.

Post transplant, he would have a regimen of medication you probably can't even imagine. I've heard of as many as 17 different medications which must be taken on a fairly strict time schedule. Eligibility to receive a transplant includes compliance as a primary criteria because the inability to comply with a complex medication regimen likely means someone else waiting for that heart died, and the heart was wasted because the recipient was unable to actually care for it.

[dkf]

41. This sounds fishy. Aren't juvenile records sealed? How would the hospital know his grades?

Are these seriously standard questions for an organ transplant?

All we know for sure is he has been tagged as having a history of non-compliance. Isn't it more likely he hasn't shown a history of properly taking his medications?

[Aerows]

76. It is

and if you can't take your medication and go to follow-ups before the transplant, you aren't going to be doing it afterwards. And trust me, living with a heart transplant patient requires a lot of medication on a very strict time schedule and a lot of follow up. It's a waste of a heart that could give someone else a chance that WILL follow their required medication, dietary needs and go to the doctor to give it to someone that already has shown that they don't have the support system to ensure that they do.

[dkf]

77. I understand they would be concerned about his ability to follow medical instructions.

But going into his juvy record? Or his grades? Is this a complete interview of every aspect of your life to get these organs?

[Aerows]

80. It's VERY likely

that he has shown an inability to take his medication and go to his doctor's appointments. You need a strong support system to undergo a heart transplant. It's not like getting your tires changed and boom, all is well.

It's a lifelong commitment to taking medication on a very strict regimen, needing to go to the doctor frequently, and there is a host of complications that you have to watch out for due to the anti-rejection medications. By design they lower the immune system, so any little cold that is going around a transplant patient is probably going to get if you aren't extremely clean with their surroundings.

Then there is diet. None of this is simple, but if the person has a strong support system like my uncle had, they get a new lease on life. But it isn't the same life they had before - radical changes are necessary.

[dkf]

88. But aren't the parents complaining its NOT due to his history of compliance but his grades...

And brushes with the law?

[Aerows]

89. I guess

but they are probably full of it.

I think they are trying to make it about race instead of the fact that their family and their son aren't responsible enough to handle the needs of a heart transplant patient. Or any transplant patient, really.

It sounds cold, but by denying someone that isn't going to follow the requirements to survive ensures that someone who will gets to live.

[dkf]

94. I agree that a person who has a poor prognosis because they don't have the habits needed to upkeep

the transplant is a bad bet.

I'm just wondering what the truth is.

[Aerows]

97. I think you already know

they have a poor prognosis because they don't have the habits, support system and prolonged care giving needed for survival after the transplant.

[Ms. Toad]

126. The parents in the article above

say that is what the doctors told them.

Another article says he has a history of not taking meds, but that the parents believe that is not the real reason. Not taking meds is a valid reason for refusing to list someone.

[Ms. Toad]

133. Another article says the doctors told them it was failure to take meds

But the parents don't believe that is the real reason. They believe it is his grades and brushes with the law.

(ETA - Oops - guess I already replied... )

[dreamnightwind]

42. K & R for visibility

This sucks.

I've heard people are denied transplants for being medical marijuana patients. Not sure if it's true, sounds more likely though after what I've read in this OP and thread.

I hope they get him a heart! I can think of a few people who aren't using theirs, maybe it should be use it or lose it.

[GreenStormCloud]

183. If he gets a heart, some other young person won't get the heart and will die.

Sorry, but that is a fact. No amount of whipped up outrage will change it. What criteria would you use to decide who lives and who dies?

[dreamnightwind]

188. I would give him yours

since you don't seem to be using it.

[GreenStormCloud]

201. Because I care more about someone actually surviving than an emotional knee-jerk...

...you think I don't have a heart. And you ducked the real question. If that kid gets a heart, someone else doesn't and dies. In the real world, how do you make that decision? Snark and insults are not an answer. Only by applying logic can we show true compasion.

[dreamnightwind]

204. Ha, just messing with you

Though I would like to expand on your remark about logic and compassion. Compassion does not arise from disembodied logic, computers are great at that and are not compassionate. Compassion comes from a mind that is in tune with and has been informed by the heart. I'm usually too far on the logic side of things myself, so am particularly aware of this.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

43. How would you choose who gets hearts?

One obvious criterion is age, another is need and a third is how good a chance of success there would be.

But factoring in "are they likely to do things that will prevent it working" doesn't strike me as unjustifiable.

It's a horrible decision to have to make, but it has to be made, and, while I don't know enough to say that this *is* a sensible criterion to include, it's certainly not obvious that it isn't.

Remember, giving this child a chance to live would mean condemning another one to death.

[Ms. Toad]

63. That is a primary criteria.

Because maintaining a donor organ requires a lifetime of careful compliance with the medical community (taking meds, keeping appointments, etc.) one way they judge is by your ability to comply at the time you are most motivated. If you are deathly ill (as you are leading up to a transplant), and cannot keep appoints or be compliant with what is usually a much simpler medication regime than post-transplant - it is likely that once you are feeling better you will be less motivated.

With my daughter (and others with her disease), anytime she disagrees with what a doctor has told her to do (or not do) we go through the routine of talking with the doctor, discussing the disagreement, and having him sign on to what she wants to do in order to make sure there is nothing in her medical record which suggests she won't (or will be unable to) be compliant with the post-transplant regime.

[Aerows]

74. Absolutely it does

My uncle had a very strict regimen of medication and diet he had to follow after his heart transplant. It's not a simple "replacement".

[ProdigalJunkMail]

45. those of you trying to make this racial can fuck off...

this is Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Non-profit, donation funded, critical care for cancers and blood-diseases. This place does more good for the children of this region than any other charity I know. They have saved or extended countless lives and they do it without charging parents diddly... and if you would just go and SEE what they do, you would KNOW race has nothing to do with it.

you should really be ashamed of yourselves...

sP

[Yo_Mama]

78. I think so too

What's worst of all about this is that the truth is being obscured, which is that for transplant patients, long term high quality follow ups are necessary, and that faithfully adhering to the medication regime is an absolute prerequisite. To spread lies about transplant programs is going to hurt donations, but it also hurts other kids in this predicament who have to get it through their heads that complying with the medical program is literally a matter of life or death.

I'm kind of sick about this thread.

[Aerows]

102. They really should

a black child whose family and support network CAN follow the medicinal regimen needed would get approved. This child isn't taking his medicine and is missing appointments. All the stirred-up controversy in the world isn't going to change the fact that he doesn't meet the requirements to ensure survival after the procedure.

It's too late to say "We'll be responsible now" when it has been demonstrated before the procedure that they aren't. There aren't enough organs to go around to do a transplant on someone that has already shown they don't have what is necessary to survive afterwards.

[Codeine]

138. Thank you.

Ignorant kneejerking all over this thread.

[MicaelS]

141. That needed to be said, Thank you! n/t

[npk]

164. Well the article was from Think Progress

So it's entirely one sided. We don't know all the facts and it is just as wrong for people to accuse others of being racists as it is when people are racists. It's funny how people here on DU accuse people they don't even know of being a racist, or without any evidence to back up that claim and they are allowed complete freedom to do so.

[Recursion]

48. Everyone so glibly condemning the hospital should talk to whoever does end up getting the next heart

and ask if you'd rather he or she die instead. It's not an easy field.

[AndyA]

52. Definition: compliant = wealthy; non-compliant = poor

Everything is about money. Follow the money, you'll find the reason for everything that happens.

Pathetic.

[Yo_Mama]

91. Oh, BS

Try to get a heart transplant if you are a wealthy drug addict or just won't take your medications. Try it.

This is a non-profit hospital that does not take any money from patients who don't have it and provides all sorts of very high-quality medical care based solely on need. The only outcome that will change their decision is if this kid does change his behavior.

And if he doesn't change his behavior, then the heart transplant wouldn't work, which is why at this time the hospital is declining to put him on the list. The intervention which would help would be an intervention with this kid. Do you think doctors and nurses haven't tried to get this across?

Your statement here serves to give a justification to this kid not to change the behavior which is literally going to kill him, whether he receives the transplant or not.

[AndyA]

137. Chill out

My comment was somewhat sarcastic.

But it's no secret in this country that having money or not having money determines the level of care you get.

Are you always in such a fowl mood, ready to jump on someone? Good grief!

[eilen]

240. That is very insulting

I am a professional. As a registered nurse, I care for the patients assigned to me and I don't ask for a financial statement first. I never really know what insurance they have-- I don't care. When I am giving patient ed regarding their medical care and medications, I will refer them to a social worker if they tell me they have no money to pay for meds as most drug companies have programs to supply certain medications to those that meet income requirements and the MSW knows all about those and other med programs they can hook someone up to. Never is the race, sex, language, background a factor in my care. If the person is a jerk, that can impact how much time I plan to spend with them but I certainly make sure all the education, assessments, medications etc are covered.

I

[AndyA]

242. It's great that you care, and I'm sure your patients are fortunate to have you as a nurse.

However, money--or lack of it--greatly influences the care and treatment many people get today. Perhaps it's not that way where you work, but it is in many places around the country.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dying-man-nearly-denied-health-183546427.html

[joeglow3]

98. The ignorance....it hurts!!!!!

[gordianot]

53. At the headline I wondered which Pro-Life Republican State?

Florida actually came to mind first but knew it had to be a Republican State or one dominated by right wing radical politicians aka Red State. Once born life is meaningless in Jesusland unless you are a fetus or in a coma. Brain activity, conscience, or consciousness are alien to the GOP so this young man does not qualify for compassion nor an actual or metaphoric heart. After all the Samaritan must have kicked the man at the side of the road in a Ron-Rand Paul rage.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

118. bullshit...

this is a FUCKING CHARITY that does more good work for sick kids than you will ever do in your life. go find out who Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is and what they do and THEN come back and delete your shit.

sP

[gordianot]

215. Actually you do not know what I do. Here is hoping the donors get their moneys worth.

Charity is great but weigh closely the worth of one life against another. I am not deleting anything.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

217. then you didn't do what i suggested

you know nothing about CHoA or you would not suggest what you do... and it is still disgusting garbage.

sP

[SamKnause]

54. Transplants

Why did the 71 year old war criminal and war profiteer Dick Cheney received a heart transplant ?????

If anyone should have been at the bottom of the transplant list Cheney should have !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ms. Toad]

58. This article does not match with another article

The other article says he was labeled non-compliant because "he failed to take his medication in the past," but that "Anthony's family says that his low grades at school and brushes with the law are the real reasons that Children's Healthcare will not put him on the heart transplant list."

In other words, it isn't that they "don't have any evidence that he would not take his medicine" - so much as that they do have evidence that he would not (based on his history of not taking it). And his family may not fully understand how important curremtn medical compliance is as a marker for future compliance (which will preserve the heart he receives).

[LisaL]

93. And patients have to take a lot of meds after the transplant.

If he doesn't take his meds, a new heart he gets will just get rejected.

[MrScorpio]

62. Well, on the racists' bright side, they have one less Black kid to worry about nt

[ProdigalJunkMail]

119. this post is fucking bullshit...

race has NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS.

sP

[Aerows]

65. My uncle had a heart transplant

He lived with us when I was a teenager. The man was on more medication than you could shake a stick at to prevent rejection. He lived with my family because he could not be alone anymore due to the strict regimen of medication he needed to take around the clock. You don't simply get a new heart and it's business as usual.

Organs are very precious and hard to come by. They have to establish that the person receiving one has the best chance at living once they get one. That includes a strong support system to help with their care. My Uncle Harry had that, and it gave him a new lease on life. But there was no way he could do it on his own, and without having responsible people around him.

I don't know anything about this young man, but I do know what it's like to live with a heart transplant patient. It's not like setting a broken bone and suddenly it's all better. Not in the slightest. It's a life-long commitment because anti-rejection medication is a must and that comes with it's own complications.

[Yo_Mama]

81. Thank you for telling the truth

to those who will not want to hear it.

[Aerows]

84. By design, anti-rejection medication weakens the immune system

Little things that don't matter suddenly matter a WHOLE lot to an organ recipient. Cleanliness, being careful not to expose the person to illness, all of it becomes tantamount to their survival.

Taking their medication is absolutely necessary, and so is going to the doctor. It's a commitment both for them, and the family that loves them.

[MrNJ]

82. My drivers' license says "organ donor" in prominent green letters

Does yours (generic "yours", applies to everybody)?

If not - than you are responsible for the shortage of organs.
So save your outrage for when you are looking in the mirror.

[Captain Stern]

90. Exactly

This wouldn't even be an issue if more people would be organ donors.

[joeglow3]

100. Yes. Little red heart with a "Y" in it.

[nessa]

85. We can only get information from the family because of HIPAA. The hospital can't explain things.(m)

The family may not be giving the entire story.

[countingbluecars]

86. What is the life of a young black

male worth these days? He is only 15! Would a 15 year old white child in similar circumstances be allowed to die?

[Aerows]

106. Yes

if he didn't take his medication and kept missing doctor's appointments. There aren't enough hearts to go around, much less to give to a person who has an established record of not taking their medication and going to the doctor.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

120. your attempt to make this racial is disgusting...

go learn what Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is about and then maybe you will come back and delete this garbage.

sP

[countingbluecars]

143. It seems to me that questioning something like this

is not disgusting or unreasonable. While I am glad not-for-profit hospitals such as this serve the community, I don't think they are beyond question when it comes to rejecting a child. Educate the parents so that they are prepared for the surgery and after care. Get them help. Again, I ask what is his life worth?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

145. A 50% chance of his life is worth less than a 75% chance of someone else's (warning: numbers made up

The reason he's been deemed a less good use of a heart than someone more likely to comply is *not* because his life is worth less than there, but because it's more likely that theirs will be saved by it than his will.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

178. injecting race into a problem when race was not an issue is disgusting...

do a little damned research before you start screaming...

sP

[countingbluecars]

179. I wasn't screaming or being antagonistic like you.

Perhaps you should do a little research. Race does seem to play a role in transplant selection. See post 171 for link to an informative article.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

189. you're goddamned right I am antogonistic

because it is bullshit to inject race into a situation that race had NOTHING TO FUCKING DO WITH IT! Has has NOTHING to do with this selection... you don't know jack shit about Children's Healthcare of Atlanta or you would not be suggesting this garbage.

sP

[GreenStormCloud]

184. If he gets a heart, some other young person won't get the heart and will die.

How would YOU make the decision of who lives and who dies?

[magical thyme]

198. It's not a question of how much they value his life. It's a question of how much *he* values it.

With a history of not taking medicine or going to follow-up doctors appointments, he is less likely to survive an organ transplant.

There are insufficient hearts to go around. A major factor in deciding who gets a heart is who is most likely to live. Compliance with a strict, lifelong regimen is a requirement of survival.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

121. another person seeing race where race has nothing to do with it...

for fuck's sake what is wrong with you???

sP

[TeamPooka]

226. Post was alerted: and thats why they are gone. Results beloew....

This is why blacks don't sign donor cards.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3455882

REASON FOR ALERT:

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. (See <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus#communitystandards" target="_blank">Community Standards</a>.)

YOUR COMMENTS:

racist generalization from a newbie

A randomly-selected Jury of DU members completed their review of this alert at Tue Aug 13, 2013, 11:55 AM, and voted 4-2 to HIDE IT.

Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT and said: Just ugh.
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to HIDE IT and said: As the alerter said-"racist generalization"
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: Let me guess, alerter is white? LEAVE. for fucks sake we live in a racist country which you would see if you weren't blinded by your pout rage!!! What's wrong with you?!?!?
Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given

[kestrel91316]

92. And of course the fact that he is black, in GA, has noooothing to do with it.

[cordelia]

101. No it doesn't.

[kestrel91316]

149. That's being naive.

[cordelia]

160. No, it's not.

Your profound hatred of anything Southern has reached a new low.

[Aerows]

104. And you are a veterinarian saying this?

I would have thought that out of everyone in this thread you would understand. Wow.

[kestrel91316]

150. ??? I DO understand. I understand that black males are always assumed to be criminals

in the deep south.

Not sure what being a veterinarian has to do with it. Except that, on the whole, we are perhaps smarter and less naive than other Americans.

[Aerows]

153. I would think

that a veterinarian has more experience with medicine and making hard choices.

I guess we aren't always up to ourselves when we are on the internet.

[Phentex]

146. The hospital follows NATIONAL guidelines for transplants...

They do not make the rules. This has nothing to do with his race or location.

[kestrel91316]

152. I can pretty much guarantee you that a white male of the same age would never have his school record

used as a weapon to deny him lifesaving care.

I bet there are LOTS of white males who have received all manner of transplants in spite of teenaged run-ins with the law and less than stellar academic records.

[Aerows]

155. No, but failing to take his medication

and failure to go to medical appointments would.

Seriously, Kestrel. I would think that you of anyone would get this and not turn it into something racial.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

156. And I can pretty much guarantee you that that didn't happen to this boy either.

What happened was that the hospital judged - rightly or wrongly I can't say, but there is no evidence to suggest they didn't exercise sound judgement - that he was less likely to comply with the onerous regime needed to make a heart transplant work, and hence that there was a higher chance of saving someone elses life than his.

We have a claim from his family that they have been told that one of the factors that influenced that assessment was his school record. I don't know whether that's even true or not, but I'll be you all Lombard street to a china orange that if it *is* true then it was only a very minor factor among many.

There is not one scrap of evidence that race had anything to do with it.

[Phentex]

161. No you cannot.

You cannot guarantee that.

[npk]

169. Well as long as YOU can guarantee us, that pretty much settles it.

And to think I thought we actually needed evidence to accuse people of being, you know, racists or bad people. Who knew that you could just infer it and that was the same thing as a guarantee.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

228. Holy shit

Where are you getting your information? This is not about his grades or his participating in teenage hi-jinks!

He's off the list because he's not taking his meds, which means he will not take care of a donated heart. Without anti rejection drugs, his body will reject the donated heart. A new heart will probably be wasted on him.

I wouldn't want my heart, or my loved ones heart going to someone who doesn't take care of it. Would you?

Oh, and quit race baiting. It's not helpful and is rather harmful.

[Aerows]

158. Which escaped the notice of a person

that is supposedly a DVM. They hand those out at the gas station, don't you know.

[Phentex]

165. Well, I don't know about that but someone who works at the hospital

said the guidelines are very strict (for everyone) and the families of the organs being donated want the organs to go to people who have a good chance of survival.

The whole denial thing isn't new. A girl was recently denied a lung transplant but had the decision overturned.

I don't know if the hospital itself (through a spokesperson) is allowed to give the exact reason of non-compliance so I think it's unfair for the media to report it as something like this kid's grades. And then for someone to diss the state of Georgia (which most of DU is already boycotting, lol) is just reaching.

[Aerows]

167. I only know

because my uncle got one, lived with us afterwards for seven years, and we had to monitor his medication and everything he ate.

[Phentex]

170. my cousin had a heart transplant...

but died shortly after.

[Aerows]

173. It's a risky procedure

and you may or may not have luck on your side, even if you do everything they tell you to do.

[Little Star]

107. What a world!

[Jenoch]

108. I know a family who had to search all over the country for a hospital

with a children's transplant unit that would accept their daughter for their heart transplant waiting list. They ended up moving across the country to be near that hospital to wait for a heart.

[Aerows]

111. And you can be pretty certain

that their child would take their medication, go to all doctor's appointments, and do everything possible to make sure that their child is demonstrating that they can get a transplant.

Organs are extremely rare and precious. A lot of people seem to think that they are just sitting there in the cooler, waiting to be used, when in fact they are few and far between. People of all colors sit on waiting lists for them, it's an expensive and complicated procedure, and it takes shed-loads of medication to keep a person from rejecting them.

Which brings me to anti-rejection medication. It lowers the immune system BY DESIGN. It is very much like living with a person with AIDS in that you have to be very careful about the germs you introduce into their environment. Sterile, absolutely clean habits have to be utilized.

Instead, this is just "Oh, a black kid can't get a heart because there are so many of them sitting on the shelf, and so what if he didn't take his medication or go to the doctor, he'll survive" BS.

[countingbluecars]

114. So these "sterile, absolutely clean habits"

would most likely eliminate any kid living in public housing?

[Aerows]

115. Not really

Unless you don't take out the trash, are unfamiliar with liberal use of disinfectant and do laundry daily. I'm pretty sure that people living in public housing keep that standard daily, unless you are implying that it's a lofty goal to keep house.

Being familiar with hot water and soap shouldn't be a problem for most people.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

229. Why would you even suggest that?

Where does it state that he lives in public housing? Are you suggesting that his family must live in public housing because they are black? And/or people who live in public housing are unclean?

[countingbluecars]

237. I was not suggesting any of those things.

Sorry if you took it that way.

[Jasana]

109. I took myself off the organ donor list because...

1) Arizona killing patients who need transplants just because they're on Medicaid.
2) Shit like this.

I'll be damned if my organs are flown over the country to give to rich people who can afford it. We'll see if the ACA changes any of this stuff.

[Aerows]

113. "Arizona killing patients who need transplants just because they're on Medicaid"

Good Lord. Paranoid much?

[LordGlenconner]

129. Paranoid? Not quite

More like:

[Aerows]

131. That's probably an insult

to bat shit, since at least it can fertilize something. Not a discussion, but a garden.

[Jasana]

230. Not paranoid. Telling you the truth. See CBS article below...

[link:http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20027668-10391704.html|

[ProdigalJunkMail]

123. shit like what?

shit like making sure that the recipient will actually do what is necessary to support the transplant? yeah, shit like NOT just throwing the fucking heart in a dumpster? ACA would not change any of this scenario because Children's Healthcare of ATL is a charity... not a for profit hospital.

sP

[Ms. Toad]

130. As a parent of a daughter who will need a liver transplant.

Thank you so much for your compassion.

[Jasana]

232. I am sorry about your daughter...

and I doubt anything I could say to someone in your terrible position would justify my terrible position. All I can say is I have my reasons and I believe they are well thought out. I don't wish to argue with you. You have enough troubles on your mind already. I sincerely hope your daughter gets well and never gets to the point where she needs a transplant at all.

[Ms. Toad]

236. Getting well is not going to happen.

This is the disease.

It is a rare chronic progressive bile duct disease, which destroys the liver. Transplant is the only known treatment, and sometimes it requires more than one transplant because the disease can recur. Two friends of ours with this disease are currently hospitalized, near death, because no livers are available. Both have been called and prepped for surgery twice, only to discover the donor liver was not suitable for transplant. One is now listed in a second location and in the hospital with an antibiotic resistant bacterial infection which the medications can't reach because the liver is so far destroyed. A liver became available for the second one two days ago, but she had been removed from the transplant list, at least temporarily, because she would not survive surgery. I have lost at least three friends in the last year for whom livers were not available - I'm not going back to check how many for sure, because I don't want to find out it is more than 3.

No matter how well thought out your reasons are, if you are basing your decision on incidents like this, you should do more research about what it takes to be listed (hint: compliance with medical protocol is a biggie, and this kid has a history of not taking meds). You should also research how many people on public assistance receive organs - a large number of people I know who have received transplants are on public assistance because they have become sick enough before they reached the point of needing a transplant to go on public disability (SSI or SSD) - and that includes the second friend above who might benefit from a liver flown from Arizona (if she gets well enough to go back on the list). Although money is a barrier, it is not as large a barrier )or as great a factor in who receives organs) as you seem to think it is for people with disabling illnesses - and most which lead to a transplant are.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

147. That's both foolish and contemptible.

This isn't "shit", it's compassionate professionals making a hard decision because they have to, and for all you or I know to the contrary calling it right.

[Jasana]

231. What's contemptible is Arizona denying transplants to poor people on Medicaid.

Sorry you haven't heard about it till now. I know this is cruel but try to think about it from my perspective. I'm a poor person. In fact I rate just above poverty because of my disability. If I wasn't on Medicare, I'd be on Medicaid. Why should I participate in a country wide program if there are poor people in the country who are being denied? When Arizona stops this, I will put myself back on the list.

As for the case in the OP, shouldn't he be given a chance? Does "in trouble with the law" equal a death sentence? What if he has an illness like bipolar disease. That can make a person unstable but I'm not sure it's justified to kill him. You're right. These are very hard questions.

[link:http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20027668-10391704.html|

[Donald Ian Rankin]

233. Because there aren't enough chances to go round, that's why.

Some people - most people who need transplants, in fact - *have* to be denied them, sadly, at least for now*.

That means that the hard decision as to who to deny *has* to be made. And "which of these people are the most likely to survive, given a transplant" seems like a good basis to make that decision on, and a history of medical non-compliance makes that less likely.

It's not a matter of killing him, it's a matter of choosing to (possibly) save someone else's life in preference to (possibly, but less probably) saving his.


The reason you should participate, incidentally, is because doing so could save someone's - most likely a child's - life. I hope that's obvious, and if it doesn't outrank everything else then I think your moral judgement is severely skewed.



*It doesn't seem unlikely that vat/animal-grown transplants will be available within our lifetimes, which might mean that there will be enough for everyone in the first world (and indeed enough for everyone in the third world, although I bet they won't be made available to them).

[Jasana]

235. You say...

"It's not a matter of killing him, it's a matter of choosing to (possibly) save someone else's life in preference to (possibly, but less probably) saving his."

But the fact is they are still probably killing him.

As for children, all I can say is I don't have any but I do have a wonderfully kind and good older relative who has gone out of her way to help me with my own disability. If she needed a transplant and was overlooked for a child, I know I would be outraged. Does this make my moral judgment skewed? I honestly don't know. When it comes to family it's so hard to say.

I look forward to the day when "vat grown" organs become widely available so we can stop asking ourselves these terrible questions. Thank you for your thoughts on this issue.

[Sotf]

166. That'll show em...

[RedCappedBandit]

221. That's ironic.

"shit like this" is the result of the lack of available organs for transplant, and your response is to NOT donate your organs. Yeah, that'll show 'em! Wha...?

[Jasana]

234. Wha? In case you didn't know, Arizona is denying transplants to people on Medicaid...

I know this is cruel but try to think about it from my perspective. I'm a poor person. In fact I rate just above poverty because of my disability. If I wasn't on Medicare, I'd be on Medicaid. Why should I participate in a country wide program if there are poor people in the country who are being denied?

When Arizona stops this, I will put myself back on the list.

[link:http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20027668-10391704.html|

[liberalhistorian]

239. Well, unfortunately I think the time is coming

when people will be forced to be organ donors, it will no longer be a voluntary choice. And the sad thing is that there are too many people, even right here on DU, who would have no problem with that whatsoever.

[ananda]

112. Boy, vayz und means, eh.

..

[grasswire]

124. sounds like a death panel to me. nt

[Donald Ian Rankin]

144. Yes, that's exactly what it is. Do you have a better alternative?

There are enough organs to save some people's lives, but not everyone's.

That means that some people have to take on the horrible, soul-destroying job of deciding who lives and who dies.

I'm very glad that it's not my responsibility.

And "which of these people is most likely to survive if we give them the heart" doesn't sound like a bad criterion to factor on.

[Aerows]

151. "Which of these people is more likely to survive"

Is pretty much the only criterion, because otherwise, why even do it. If someone isn't doing what they need to do BEFORE the transplant, then transplant be damned, they won't be doing it afterwards. As PJM upthread said, just toss the donor heart in the dumpster, because that's about all it will amount to, anyway.

[WinkyDink]

135. I doubt if there's a correlastion in "compliance" between getting good school grades and dying.

[GreenStormCloud]

185. You have only heard the parents side of the story.

The hospital can't publicy say the details because of HIPPA laws. The fact is that if he gets the heart, some other young person doesn't get the heart and will die. What criteria would YOU use to decide who lives and who dies?

[magical thyme]

202. there is a correlation between adhering to a strict regimen and surviving, or not adhering and

dying. Survival is based on compliance with the regimen. It is about being willing to follow strict rules, do what you are told, in order to survive. And that is a fact.

Because the article claims "school performance" was a factor does not mean it was, or that it was about grades versus attendance.

From what others have written, the teen in question has a history of skipping medication and skipping follow up visits to the doctor.

That is a luxury that a transplant recipient cannot afford. You comply with the regimen or you die. It really is that simple. Without enough hearts to go around, somebody has to decide who gets one. One of the factors in that decision is how likely the patient is to follow the regimen to the letter; how likely they are to survive the procedure and the follow up, ongoing care and treatment. IOW, who is most likely to survive.

Read what posters with real-life experience being on a transplant list, being rejected for the list, or surviving a transplant have written in this thread.

[egold2604]

159. My wife was just rejected by the transplant team for a liver transplant

My wife has a long history of alcohol abuse, having downed a quart of Southern Comfort a day for many years. Her liver is extremely cirrhotic and maybe about 20% of her liver is functional. On top of that, she has a 1.7 cm lesion in her liver which the team feels is cancer. In addition, she has portal hypertension from the heart having to pump against the brick that is her liver. The portal hypertension is the main cause of fatality during transplant surgery, or post op. BTW, she also has brain damage and hepatic neuropathy due to the high levels of circulating ammonia which is normally metabolized out by the liver. We had to get rid of out poultry because the chickens have a fungus that will kill someone who is immunosuppressed.

After 18 months of testing, scans, blood work, and very aggressive treatment of her portal hypertension, the transplant team decided that she was not a candidate for a transplant. The main reason given is the portal hypertension, which was brought down to an average of 51 cm of water (cut off is 50%). However, they are more concerned about her compliance because she has blown off AA and counseling and they feel she will start drinking again. The portal hypertension was an excuse, and they did not put her on the list.

There are 8000 liver transplants each year in the US and about 100,000 on the waiting list. Concerns about non-compliance are real. While I feel bad about the 15 year old who was denied a heart transplant, I understand the system. It has nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with the ability to comply with the very strict regime.

The net is that my wife has a limited lifespan and sometimes over the next week, month, year, or decade, she will die from the results of alcohol abuse, eve though she has not had a drink in about 2 years.

[Aerows]

163. I'm deeply sorry to hear this

and I hope your wife continues on her road to recovery. That in itself is blessing - at least she will be aware of her remaining years, and can make the most of them, your family, and your love.

[Phentex]

168. Thank you for your perspective...

Concerns about non-compliance are real.

Especially with the numbers you cite, it's easier to understand why the rules have to be so strict.

I'm very sorry for your situation.

[Yo_Mama]

172. I'm terribly sorry

for what you are facing in your life, and hers.

Thank you for posting on this thread.

[onenote]

196. I don't recall ever seeing a thread on DU

That had more knowledgable and, indeed, first-hand information on one side, and more bullshit, crap presumptions on the other. There are a lot of folks posting in this thread who ought to go back re read all of the comments, and delete some of theirs.

Kudos for those trying to educate.
Boo to those making assumptions and being, in general, jerks.

[hue]

162. Artificial kidneys & hearts will eventually(beginning 2017 for kidneys)negate the ethical decisions.

Artificial Kidney Holds Promise for Vast Majority on Dialysis

http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/03/13699/artificial-kidney-holds-promise-vast-majority-dialysis

Dialysis Patients Hopeful for Artificial Kidney

[countingbluecars]

171. Some interesting statistics

for those who think race plays no role in selecting organ recipients.

http://raniakhalek.com/2013/08/12/hospital-denies-black-teen-a-heart-transplant-because-of-bad-grades-and-trouble-with-law/

[Yo_Mama]

174. But don't most of these statistics arise from medical facts?

If you are an uninsured illegal immigrant, how are you going to get the drugs necessary to save your life?

ACA and other programs may help close this gap, although apparently not in 2014 due to the failure to enforce the out-of-pocket caps. One of the measures that has been shown to improve patient compliance has simply been to provide free drugs!

But if there isn't something in place ensuring that a post-op patient will be able to get the drugs and care, then they won't benefit from the transplant!!!

Instead of blaming the hospitals involved, maybe we need to be thinking about financing? Which, again, ACA should help, but my understanding is that it won't for illegal immigrants. They will still be in the gap. There's a lifetime's worth of medical followup and treatment that has to occur in order for transplant patients to survive and do well.

[countingbluecars]

176. Also from the article

“Socioeconomic factors, including health insurance and access to care, explained almost 1/3 of the lower rate of transplant among black vs. white patients,” the research reveals. “However, even after adjusting for demographic, clinical, and socioeconomic factors, blacks had a 59% lower rate of transplant than whites.”

[Yo_Mama]

182. Aside from socio-economic factors, which are still significant

The biggest factor was tissue matching. HLA? That is only done for kidney transplants, but HLA matching there led to a big disparity. However the transplant statistics you cited are drawn from kidney transplants.

It was much harder to find good tissue matches for African Americans.
http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/organ/chapter3.pdf

There was a rule change in 2003 which greatly improved matters.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/national_policy_change_reduces_racial_disparity_in_kidney_transplants

The newer immunosuppressive agents are more effective, and so they are matching less closely and getting almost as good outcomes. Of course, it makes taking the drugs and getting access to the drugs even more essential.

[Ms. Toad]

209. Thank you.

I intended to mention earlier, in response to an appropriately deleted post about African Americans not being organ donors, that for some transplants typing correlates with race. There is a critical shortage of bone marrow for African American recipients because there are proportionally fewer non-white bone marrow donors.

I have now aged out - but anyone interested in being a bone marrow donor (whatever your race) should register here.

Wait! I just checked - they upped the age since I registered, so I still have a chance for a few more years. And I only had to donate $25 (rather than the current fee of $100 for older donors).

[ProdigalJunkMail]

190. funny how many times the words 'i think' come up in this article...

purely speculative bullshit. CHoA is the least likely group on the planet to discriminate based on race. For fuck's sake, go do some fucking research before you smear and organization with innuendo...

sP

[Ms. Toad]

208. Any article that repeats misinformation in its headline

is not a reliable source.

Non-compliant means he has a demonstrated history of not taking meds. His parents were told this but, understandably, believe that is not the real reason. Most parents (like most people in this thread) haven't spent the time hanging out with transplantees, transplant surgeons, organ donors, etc. to understand how critical medical compliance will be for the rest of this child's life.

Race almost certainly does play an indirect role in who is listed, though, because not only do you have to establish that you can be compliant with a complex medical regimen (taking meds, keeping appointments, living with what may seem like arbitrary restrictions on your activity), you have to prove you have the emotional, support, and medical resources to care for the heart after you receive it. Money (and family stability) plays a large role in that part of the analysis. Although neither of those are inherently race based, historical discrimination and our current justice system which puts large numbers of black males in jail, make it likely that (statistically) a larger portion of non-whites will not be able to establish that they have a stable support system, access to medical care that will be needed for the rest of his life to care for the heart.

In addition, because it costs money to be listed more than one place (and being listed more than one place means you get more than one shot at available organs), those people listed more than one place are more likely to be white. (You have to physically go to the second listing location, go through another battery of medical, financial, and psychological tests. You have to be willing and able to live in the second location for an extended period post transplant, and for at least part of that time you have to have a support system which is also able to relocate. All of which requires money, flexible employment, and strong stable (financially as well as emotionally) family support. Unfortunately, those also often correlate with skin color.

But - like I said at the beginning - any article which starts quoting something which is inaccurate (and inflammatory) doesn't even get a second glance from me.

[countingbluecars]

210. I agree that the headline may be inaccurate

since we have only heard the parents' side of the story. I also realize that the article is a blog. I was more interested in the research referenced by the writer. I appreciate your post above as well reasoned and informative.

[Ms. Toad]

213. I've spent far too much time thinking about transplants

- my daughter will need a liver transplant some day, and I have more than a dozen friends with the same disease who have already received one (or more).

[Orsino]

177. Death panel. n/t

[BlueCheese]

181. Educational thread here.

Thanks to those who have had experience with organ transplants for educating the rest of us.

It would be one thing if we had plenty of organs to go around. But given that we don't, hard decisions have to be made. It's not like they're taking a heart that was designated for Anthony and dumping it on the floor.

Reading the linked article, it is only family members or friends who think it's his grades or history with the law are the reason. They may be right, but there's not enough evidence to say yet.

[Phentex]

192. I think we all agree that we wish

nobody had to be on a waiting list. Then again, that would mean others have to die to use the organs. It's a tough situation all the way around.

[Liberal_in_LA]

193. kick

[eilen]

241. It looks like they put him back on the list. nt

[EL34x4]

244. Anthony Stokes has been killed.

He died when he crashed the vehicle he had carjacked while fleeing police after striking a pedestrian.

[link:http://www.wsbradio.com/news/news/local/police-suspect-hits-pedestrian-while-running-offic/nkjx8/#__federated=1|

[Orrex]

245. I thought of this thread immediately upon hearing of his death

I recall the heated discussion and the unsubtle condemnation both of the hosptial for ruling him a poor candidate and of the people who supported the hospital's decision.

A tragic end to the story.