Organ donation scandal indictment against Göttingen doctor

Physician charged with attempted manslaughter

06/22/2013

In the near future, a transplant surgeon will face trial in the Göttingen organ donation scandal. He is accused of attempted manslaughter in eleven cases, as well as bodily injury resulting in death in three other patients.

Lying consciously?
The 46-year-old physician, who has been in custody since January, is accused by the prosecutor Braunschweig, in his eleven years guilty of manslaughter and in three cases for assault with fatalities during his three years at the University of Göttingen. The Göttingen doctor is said to have deliberately lied in eleven cases when reporting patient data to the central donor body of donor organs, Eurotransplant, in order to ensure that his patients move up the list of donor organs.

According to the public prosecutor's office, they were then assigned within a very short time to a donor organ that was transplanted to them. As in Germany a lack of organ donation prevail, according to prosecutors to assume, „that by untrue statements of the accused other patients who were life-threatening illness as reported by the accused, no donor organ received and possibly died for this reason. "This is the doctor who considered acceptable. There can not be assigned to which patients may die because of his actions, he is accused of trying and no consummate manslaughter.

Ignored alcohol abstinence
The indictment also states that five of the patients were reported to Euro Transplant although, as required by the guidelines of the German Medical Association abstinence six months had not been complied with. In addition, in three of these cases, false blood counts had been reported. The Göttingen transplant center, board whose leadership at the time the accused to have been allocated on an expedited basis organs, so that in three cases, patients livers were planted. Nevertheless, it was announced that no health benefits arise from the fact that he had performed the transplants and although these risks to patients salvaged. The patients had not been informed about this and thus their consent to the operation was ineffective. It follows, according to prosecutors, that the interventions constitute a personal injury. The three patients all died after the transplants.

At least three years imprisonment threaten
The surgeon, imprisonment in the case of a conviction imprisonment not less than three years. According to a spokeswoman for the judiciary, the imposition of a professional ban is also an option. The prosecutor also said that the suspicion of bribery and organ trafficking had not been confirmed. The investigation against four other physicians from the University of Göttingen, who are accused of involvement in the manipulation, has separated the prosecutor. Anonymous comments about two years ago had drawn attention to the scandal. The doctor will have to answer before the jury court Göttingen. The process is not yet scheduled, but is expected to take place in the fall. In addition to the now indicted cases, there are, according to the spokeswoman for the authorities still 28 other suspected cases, which were initially set for the time being.

Willingness to donate organs due to scandal
After the organ donation scandal became public, the readiness for organ donation in Germany dropped rapidly. For example, last October by almost 50 percent. For the approximately 12,000 patients who are currently waiting for a donor organ, the situation is precarious. Because every day three people die while waiting for a donor organ. Against this background, it is hoped that the reorganization of organ donation will be successful. The statutory health insurance were required to query the organ donor their policyholders every two years. (Ad)