Health officials from , which oversees organ procurement programs and hospitals in the U.S., are investigating the three hospitals involved in the case of four transplant recipients in the Chicago area who in January contracted HIV and hepatitis C from a high-risk organ donor, the reports (Tanner, AP/Google.com, 11/16).
According to officials at — the organ procurement agency that tested and approved the organs for donation — a screening questionnaire determined that the donor had engaged in high-risk behavior. However, tests for HIV, hepatitis and other conditions came back negative, indicating the donor most likely contracted the diseases in the last three weeks of his or her life, according to the Tribune. HIV-positive people can test HIV-negative for up to 22 days after contracting the virus because antibodies detected by the test are not yet present, and the latent period can be longer for hepatitis C, the Tribune reports.
Based on the test results, physicians at , and the went ahead with the transplants, according to officials from the centers. Alison Smith, vice president for operations at Gift of Hope, said the agency “followed the right procedures” in testing the donor (, 11/14). The hospitals could face penalties or be expelled from Medicare participation if CMS finds any mishandling and the hospitals do not comply with corrective action demands, the AP/Google.com reports.
Jan Tarantino, director of the division of continuing care providers at CMS, said Medicare officials usually contract with local authorities to investigate hospitals, but this time the agency sent officials to assist investigators from the state health department. “We’re taking some extra steps … because this is potentially a very serious situation,” Tarantino said, adding, “We’re looking at the circumstances surrounding the donor and the four recipients and checking to make sure that all the notifications” occurred (AP/Google.com, 11/16).
According to the , investigations by ‘ , CDC and the are under way.
Attorney for Organ Recipient Files Petition To Preserve, Supply Records Related to Case
Thomas Demetrio, an attorney for one of the organ recipients, filed a petition Thursday in Cook County, Ill., Circuit Court asking officials to prohibit the UC Medical Center and Gift of Hope from destroying or altering any records involved in the donation, the Sun-Times reports (Grossman, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/16). “It is imperative that we secure any and all records and information pertaining to this transplant surgery and the kidney donor in order to properly protect the legal rights and interests of our client,” Demetrio said (AP/Google.com, 11/16).
He also said that his client should have been told the organ came from a high-risk donor before the surgery was performed. “It’s up to the patient … to make the decision whether to incur the risk,” Demetrio said, adding, “This was not a life or death situation.” Tina Cheatham of HRSA said that while hospitals must be told the organ came from a high-risk patient, federal rules do not require physicians to inform patients about the donor. “Based on our initial review, it looks like all the protocols were followed” Cheatham said (Chicago Sun-Times, 11/16).
Reprinted with kind permission from . You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at . The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.