Potential organ donors opting out of programs after reports of man mistakenly declared dead
CTV
Transplant experts are seeing a spike in people revoking organ donor registrations, their confidence shaken by reports that organs were nearly retrieved from a Kentucky man mistakenly declared dead.
Transplant experts are seeing a spike in people revoking organ donor registrations, their confidence shaken by reports that organs were nearly retrieved from a Kentucky man mistakenly declared dead.
It happened in 2021 and while details are murky surgery was avoided and the man is still alive. But donor registries in the U.S. and even across the Atlantic are being impacted after the case was publicized recently. A drop in donations could cost the lives of people awaiting a transplant.
“Organ donation is based on public trust,” said Dorrie Dils, president of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations, or OPOs. When eroded, “it takes years to regain.”
Only doctors caring for patients can determine if they're dead -- the law blocks anyone involved with organ donation or transplant. The allegations raise questions about how doctors make that determination and what’s supposed to happen if anyone sees a reason for doubt.
Key is ensuring “all doctors are doing the right tests and doing them well,” said Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, a Georgetown University bioethicist.
The 2021 case first came to light in a congressional hearing last month, with unconfirmed details in later media reports – allegations that a man who’d been declared dead days earlier woke up on the way to the operating room for organ-donation surgery and that there was initial reluctance to realize it.
The federal agency that regulates the U.S. transplant system is investigating, and the Kentucky attorney general’s office said it is “reviewing the facts to identify an appropriate response.” A coalition of OPOs and other donation groups is urging that findings be made public quickly and the public withhold judgment until then, saying any deviation from the industry's strict standards would be “entirely unacceptable.”
Hawaii suffered its worst flooding in more than 20 years as heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago, officials said Friday while warning that still more rain was expected during the weekend.
While Canada is well known for its accomplishments in space — including building the robotic arms used on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station — the country still has no ability to launch its own satellites. This week, Ottawa committed nearly a quarter‑billion dollars towards changing that.
March is Liver Health Month, and while many people think about alcohol and diet when it comes to liver health, a growing risk factor is chronic hepatitis B.
It’s an enduring stereotype that Canadians are unfailingly nice, quick to apologize even when they have done nothing wrong. But an online urban legend claims the opposite of Canada’s soldiers, painting a picture of troops so brazen in their brutality that international laws were rewritten to rein them in.
Friday marks the first official day of spring in the northern hemisphere, but it will still feel like winter this weekend for many Canadians, as snow, sleet, rain and sub-zero temperatures are forecast across the country.
A social media post from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week shows a big-eyed macaque staring out from behind bars.
Young people in southeast England and beyond are lining up for the meningitis B vaccine after an outbreak killed two people, sparking supply warnings from pharmacies and raising broader questions about the best public health response to the disease.
Many wage earners are engaging in “microshifting,” a flexible scheduling approach that involves tackling job duties in short, productive bursts instead of a single nine-to-five stretch.
Tyson Atleo, a hereditary leader of the Ahousaht First Nation, says the creation of three new forestry areas to be managed by his community and two others on the west coast of Vancouver Island marks the realization of a long-standing promise.
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries worldwide, Canadian universities are emerging as key players – not only in developing technology but in teaching students how to use it responsibly.
Switching up your exercise routine does more than fight boredom. Engaging in varied forms of movement may significantly boost your longevity, according to research.
A seven-bedroom, five-bathroom home in Ottawa’s Rothwell Heights neighbourhood is currently the most expensive home on the market in the capital.
David Suzuki, the geneticist-turned-environmentalist, who is days away from his 90th birthday, reflected on his legacy as he prepared to release his latest book, “Lessons from a Lifetime,” which compiles photos and stories from his life, as well as testimonials written by those he inspired.