Turkish boy not on the donor heart list

Turkish boy does not come on list for donor heart

25/10/2014

In a court ruling, it was decided that the University of Giessen does not have to put a heart-ill boy with severe brain damage on the waiting list for a donor organ. Doctors do not consider the Turkish biennial to be transplantable.

Two-year-old boy is not on waiting list
After a months-long dispute, the district court Giessen has now decided that the University of Giessen does not have to put a heart ill boy with severe brain damage on the waiting list for a donor organ. This is evident from a message from the news agency dpa. The judges thus supported the treatment of the treating physicians, who consider the two-year-old to be non-transplantable because of the damage and the associated risks. Currently the boy is connected to an artificial heart. According to the information, the lawyer wants to appeal to the parents.

Brain damage after cardiac arrest
At the end of March, the parents came to Germany with their son for treatment from Turkey. Shortly before being transferred from an Istanbul hospital to Gießen, the boy suffered a cardiac arrest. The physicians in casting then found that the two-year had suffered as a result of severe brain damage. The doctors therefore decided not to put the child on the waiting list, after which the parents had called the court in September. The verdict now states that the doctors' assessment is not objectionable. Both the corresponding standard of the Transplantation Act and the guidelines of the German Medical Association are effective. The physicians had invoked these regulations.

Physicians refute accusation of discrimination
The case has caused quite a stir in recent weeks. For example, some critics accused the doctors of discriminating against the disabled. Even politicians spoke up. Again „mirror“ reports, the Left Bundestag member Kathrin Vogler said: „Getting a donor organ should not be a question of purse or disability.“ On the part of the clinic such allegations were repeatedly rejected. The judges backed the medical profession in their verdict and stated that there was no discrimination. So not the brain damage per se, but the associated increased surgical risks is an obstacle to transplantation.

Clinic wants to approach parents
The lawyer of the parents explained that he regretted the decision of the court. The alleged criticism of the Transplantation Act and the guidelines of the German Medical Association would be hidden. The spokesman of the University Hospital in Giessen said that it was through the verdict in the assessment of the case „full“ confirmed. Now you will approach the parents and discuss the remaining treatment options. First, the parents had agreed in the dispute with the clinic on a so-called intermediate comparison. The parents were given four weeks to find another clinic. Since this failed, however, the court had to decide.

Supply at a high level
Even though cardiac surgery in Germany is at a high level, the heart surgeons' numbers in this country are continuing to grow dramatically from the point of view of cardiac surgeons. At the beginning of the year, it was reported that such interventions at the 22 transplant centers in Germany that transplant donor hearts had declined significantly since 1997. An expert said at the time that about 1,000 patients are on waiting lists and usually have to wait months for life-saving transplants. (Ad)