The ability to help patients by transplanting one organ into another person’s body has grown by leaps and bounds. What was once science fiction is now medical reality. More than ever, patients can get new organs that lead not only to prolonged life but a far better quality of life. At the same time, as transplant operations have increased so too has the possibility of medical error for transplant patients. People who rely on such transplants to help them recover from a medical condition are highly reliant on medical experts. They expect all those involved in their care to adhere to the highest possible medical standards at all times. A single transplant error can have terrible consequences. All those who are entrusted with taking organs from another person, bringing them to another person and making sure that new organ works property must be aware of medical guidelines that govern their actions every step of the way.
No Official Body
Unfortunately for transplant patients, there is no governing body in the United States that is in charge of overseeing transplants. This means that no one organization in the country monitors transplants in order to ensure that they are conducted well. Patients are left at the mercy of individual hospitals and medical professions to make sure that all necessary medical procedures are followed and patient care remains the primary goal. Organ donation and reception is often a complicated operation that involves a great many people. During all parts of this process, it is possible for something to go wrong. A single error can lead to unwanted complications that may threaten the function of the transplanted organ. It can also lead to problems that can complicate the person’s overall health in the short-term and even threaten their lives.
Transmitted Infections
One of the most common problems who get a transplanted organ face is the risk of infection. Medications that are used to transplant an organ require the patient to agree to a regimen of immune suppression. Patients who take them can be highly vulnerable to infections. The donor may have an infection that is not caught before the organ is transplanted. For example, one donor was infected with HIV. This is because the organ donor had AIDS but was not properly screened before his organs were made available for transplantation. Other patients have also suffered as a result of failure to catch such infections. Patients have been infected with diseases such as hepatitis C. Even if the donor is known to the patients, it is still possible for the patient to get a devastating infection. A fifteen year old teen was given a new kidney by one of his parents. The young man came down with bacterial meningitis in the aftermath of the transplant. The infection was clearly not as a result of the organ donor. Instead, it came about because the transplant team did not use enough care during the transplant procedure in order to ensure the patient would be safe once the organ was transplanted.
Poor Monitoring
Many other kinds of medical damage may happen as a result of transplantation errors. Doctors failed to examine a donor heart carefully enough. The organ was later discovered to be in very bad shape. The heart disease present was so bad the Chicago man was given almost no chance at survival. Under later questioning, those medical professionals involved in the procedure were forced to admit that the patient would have been better off had he been urged to keep his own heart. Instead, he was offered a painful medical procedure that left him in worse shape and ultimately led to his untimely passing. Other cases have resulted in similar problems for patients. One Minnesota woman was given a pancreas that was riddled with cancer. In another case, a woman was also given a pancreas with a rare cancer that ultimately killed her. Such errors have not given the desired and expected results that patients deserve under standards of accepted care.
A Positive Solution
Patients understandably look to transplant professionals for help. The possible excitement and promise that stems from a medical procedure like this one is one that must be upheld. Doctors and other medical professionals who fail to adhere to such standards betray their profession and their patients. Our firm can help anyone who has been wronged by a medical professional’s failure to do their job and make sure that an organ transplant takes place under the best possible circumstances. We are there to fight for your rights and the rights of a loved one who may have been unfairly harmed by a procedure that holds so much incredible promise. We will be at your side with the best possible Chicago transplant errors legal representation.