Indian Transplant Newsletter Vol. V Issue NO.14. Feb-Jun 2003
Print ISSN 0972 - 1568

Organ Transplant Mix-up in the U.S.

Indian Transplant Newsletter.
Vol. V Issue NO.14. Feb-Jun 2003
Print ISSN 0972 - 1568
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A tragic procedural error led to the tragic end of Jessica Santillan, a 17-year old girl from Mexico, after she underwent transplant surgery at Duke University Hospital, North Carolina, U.S.A.

Jessica had a 'heart-Lung' transplant on February 7, 2003. It was discovered too late that she had received an incompatible set of organs; while Jessica’s blood type was o positive, the organs she received were from a donor with type a blood. As a result, Jessica’s body rejected the organs and her condition became critical. Immediately after the surgery, Duke contacted the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the national organ-procurement group notifying them that Jessica was in critical need of another transplant. This was done after she underwent the appropriate medical tests that determined that she was eligible for and would benefit from another transplant. Remarkably, new organs were identified in 13 days, and she received a second transplant on February 20, 2003. For a short period immediately after the second operation her new organs functioned well, but her overall condition continued to deteriorate and she died on February 22, 2003. This tragic event underlined the need for developing national guidelines for organ transplants and thoroughly investigating what exactly went wrong in the Jessica Santillan case. 

Editor's Note: Duke University Hospital has recently announced that it is establishing a $4 million perpetual fund that will honor the memory of Jessica Santillan by providing additional support services for Latino pediatric patients and their families receiving treatment at Duke.


To cite : Shroff S, Navin S. Organ Transplant Mix-up in the U.S.. Indian Transplant Newsletter Vol. V Issue NO.14. Feb-Jun 2003.
Available at:
https://www.itnnews.co.in/indian-transplant-newsletter/issue14/IN-THE-NEWS-INTERNATIONAL-200.htm

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