Dying Black Teen Denied Heart Transplant Due Partly to Low Grades and Trouble With the Law
Source: Alternet
ifteen-year-old Anthony Stokes has less than six months to live unless he receives an emergency heart transplant. But his family has been told that Anthony doesn’t qualify for the transplant list because he has a “ history of non-compliance” — partly due to his history of earning low grades and having some trouble with the law.
“They said they don’t have any evidence that he would take his medicine or that he would go to his follow-ups,” Melencia Hamilton, Anthony’s mother, told WSBTV News. Hamilton explained that her son has an enlarged heart, and a transplant is the only thing that will help his condition.
The doctors at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta weren’t very specific about what exactly contributed to their decision to label Anthony as “non-compliant.” But family friends explained to WSBTV News that they were told it’s partly because of Anthony’s performance in school and run-ins with law enforcement.
His family and friends don’t accept that as a valid reason to deny the teen life-saving treatment. “We must save Anthony’s life,” family friend Mack Major, identified as Anthony’s mentor, told CBS Atlanta. “We don’t have a lot of time to do it, but it’s something that must be done.”
Read more: http://www.alternet.org/dying-black-teen-denied-heart-transplant-due-partly-low-grades-and-trouble-law
Discrimination against the poor continues.
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Orrex
(66,584 posts)Lots of good information in that thread from people with first-hand knowledge of the transplant review process.
MarkLaw
(204 posts)Orrex
(66,584 posts)It certainly bears further discussion, but I wanted to highlight the information already shared in that other thread.
MarkLaw
(204 posts)Apologies in advance if the Moderators spend their time deleting it because they rule it prohibited for this forum.
vdogg
(1,385 posts)Is grounds for a death sentence? Good thing these folks weren't around when I was in high school. 
liberalhistorian
(20,897 posts)For those who are not poor and not in the minority, you're just a typical adolescent "going through a phase" and a little direction will help. If you're not, though, fuck off and die already, is the attitude. And the medical profession is just as infected with that, if not even more so.
Ash_F
(5,861 posts)cstanleytech
(28,165 posts)transplants given the shortage of organs needed for people on the transplant lists?
What if we go by age?
Youngest to oldest or oldest to youngest?
COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)which made it abundantly clear that racism had NOTHING to do with the decision. Rather, it was a result of the young man being found not responsible enough to carry out the very demanding regimen post-transplant that is required of all heart transplant patients. When there is not a very genuine guarantee that the patient is willing and able to do all that is required of him/her post transplant they are dropped from the transplant list, ensuring that a very scarce heart does not go to waste.
MarkLaw
(204 posts)COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)charge of transplants determined that the young man was not responsible enough to be sure that he would carry out the very difficult post transplant regimen required of all heart transplant patients. Because of that they dropped him.
MarkLaw
(204 posts)involved?
"You don't say who you think should PAY for your cousin's fiancee's pancreas. Me? You? The government....our taxes? Why cannot this guy get himself some insurance and be responsible for himself. Why is this anyone but his problem? Why? Don't they teach this stuff in school and college. Be responsible. Save a few dollars (there's a unique idea) for a rainy day.
Hearts are rare. If this man won't comply, if he's going out to get himself shot in a ghetto somewhere dealing drugs or some other crime WHY on earth would we waste a heart on him?"
The quote above is a comment from alternet posted by someone responding to this story. I have met many doctors who hold similar beliefs.
I've met some doctors who basically hold the view that the world would be better off without poor people. They believe they are a waste of resources and will just end up becoming addicts that will burden the state.
You are basically saying the discussion should end because doctors made a decision. I don't agree Doctors are not infallible! They are prone to the same prejudices and biases as everyone else.
COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)TheDebbieDee
(11,119 posts)And sometimes, they are horrible people........
Freddie Stubbs
(29,853 posts)COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)it MUST have been due to racism. No other possible explanation. "Doctors hate minorities". "Doctors are a bunch of greedy fucks who think the poor should die". "I know a lot of them, so I know". etc. etc. etc.
MarkLaw
(204 posts)is never a factor in the medical field.
Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A Washinton This book might change your heart.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2592307/ ----Our role in creating health care disparities
John Guilfoyle, MD FCFP
Family physician in Sioux Lookout, Ont, and an Associate Professor for the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the University of Manitoba
A very revealing look at prejudice in the medical field.
http://www.unc.edu/~wedavid/web/US%20HC%20SYSTEM%20PAPER_Brad_Wright.pdf --------------Brad Wright
PUBH 207
Profs. Reum and Burke
December 13, 2004
A very detailed essay on how health outcomes are largely dictated by our economic class.
COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)knee-jerk reactions are never persuasive. Look over the battery of very informed responses on THIS particular decision and see if you find ANY indication of racial prejudice at work here. To insist that there is is unfortunate in the extreme.
MarkLaw
(204 posts)the medical field is immune to prejudice. I just want an open discussion. T
There has been no knee-jerk reaction on my part.
Your comment
"There didn't seem to be any uncertainty. The people in
charge of transplants determined that the young man was not responsible enough to be sure that he would carry out the very difficult post transplant regimen required of all heart transplant patients. Because of that they dropped him. "
This sums your argument up. THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE HERE, PEOPLE MOVE ON!
Your position is knee-jerk and impulsive. You take the stand that instead of asking questions we should blindly follow.
Good luck with that.
Judi Lynn
(164,041 posts)Freddie Stubbs
(29,853 posts)
Warpy
(114,360 posts)15 year old kids need extensive support at home to adhere to the strict regimen it takes to stay alive with any donated organ.
People don't realize what a drastic surgery this is and how slowed the recovery period is due to some of the antirejection drugs. It's kinder to give this kid his six months without sawing his chest open.
Trust me, the transplant team had abundant reason to drop him off the list. Nobody wants to see a kid die just because he's the "wrong" color.
COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)by interjecting facts into the discussion.
Warpy
(114,360 posts)for working with pre and post op transplant patients.
The standards are rigorous and a lot of patients fail them.
COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)another_liberal
(8,821 posts)In other words: "Being a Black teen in Georgia."
RZM
(8,556 posts)The following states have higher black incarceration rates than Georgia:
Alaska, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, New Jersey, Nebraska, Louisiana, Delaware, Washington, Indiana, Connecticut, Missouri, Florida, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, California, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Utah, Vermont, Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota.
The last three have rates more than twice those of Georgia. Notice how few deep south states are in that list too. Most of them have rates even lower than Georgia's.
I'm certainly not saying there isn't racism in Georgia when it comes to cops and minorities. I'm just saying that your statement is odd given that Georgia's rate is actually lower than the national average.
More here: http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/rd_stateratesofincbyraceandethnicity.pdf
another_liberal
(8,821 posts)You don't brag about those percentages, now do you? The overall rate of incarceration for White Georgians in 2007 was 623 in every 100,000. For Black Georgians it was 2068 per 100,000. I don't have the figures for Georgian youth alone, but I would bet it is even more lopsided.
http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/rd_stateratesofincbyraceandethnicity.pdf
RZM
(8,556 posts)I'm not 'bragging.' I'm pointing out data.
Second, the discrepancy between black and white rates is high all over the country. In no state is it even remotely equal. Still, in Georgia (and most of the rest of the deep south) the rates are a lot closer than in some other places.
The national rates are 412 and 2290, meaning the black rate nationally is 5.5 times higher. In Georgia the rate is 3.3 times higher. That's high, but again, it's a lot less than the national discrepancy at 5.5 times. Not a great situation of course, but still better than the country at large.
But check out Wisconsin, where the rates are 415 to 4416. That's a whopping 10.6 times higher rate for African-Americans. In Iowa, the rates are 309 and 4200. That's an even more whopping 13.6 times higher rate.
So to recap, in Georgia blacks are locked up at 3.3 times the rate white are. In Wisconsin they are locked up 10.6 times more often and in Iowa, 13.6 times more often. Both of those states have a discrepancy more than twice the national rate and well over three times that of Georgia.
So when you're talking inequality in the rates, Georgia continues to look better than many states. It looks WAY better than those I used in my examples above.
That's not 'bragging.' It's just the numbers.
meanit
(455 posts)and they want a resume on how much of a good citizen he's been?
GreenStormCloud
(12,072 posts)How do you decide who does and who doesn't get the heart. There aren't enough for everybody.
COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)compliant with all the tremendous discipline, organization and hassle that come with being a transplant recipient. If this regimen is not strictly adhered to the donated organ is lost. Typically teenagers (of whatever race) don't make particularly good candidates. This young man also was found not to be a good candidate for a very scarce item.
cstanleytech
(28,165 posts)COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)scarce organs available go to those who are 1) most in need and 2) most likely to take care of the organ successfully transplanted then, yes, it's the math.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)A mathematics predicated on subjective, imaginary and arbitrary lines drawn by the fallibility of humans.
However, as we may allow ourselves the illusion of objectivity when emphatically stating that one life is more deserving than the other, we may live our lives with a feigned, if not altogether petulant righteousness.
COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)knowing that only a small percentage of those needing the transplant will get an organ and all the others will die?
MicaelS
(8,747 posts)Who gets the most publicity, who can generate the most sympathy gets the transplant? Instead of letting the professionals who train for this make the decision?
meanit
(455 posts)that it was based on the priority need of the person.
What the story is describing sounds like a veiled form of eugenics.
COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)with the scarcity of organs available for transplant recipients have to be capable of following through with the very demanding treatment and lifestyle regime that all organ recipients must follow religiously. No eugenics involved at all.
they somehow know that he won't take his medication and that "fact" trumps his medical priority? He's 15. What 15 year old has a perfect score card on following through with anything? Perhaps the ones who have huge family and community support. I wonder how many bake sales were held for this kid due to his illness? Did Mom, Dad and the siblings make sure he took his meds every day? Were the teachers & school nurse aware of his needs?
Or is he just another "moocher"?
onenote
(45,963 posts)And given the choice between someone who the doctors, based on all sorts of information, not just what some unhappy familiy members say is the reason, think is less likely to follow through and have a successful outcome and one who, based on similar collection of information, is more likely, I would hope they would go with more likely over less likely every time. Because there aren't enough organs to go around.
BTW, have you filled out your organ donor card?
meanit
(455 posts)Sorry, I don't think the methods used by the doctor's to determine who is the better candidate are beyond reproach in a system dominated by profit.
Igel
(37,256 posts)Does that mean every decision you make on your job has to be flawed?
The evaluators get paid regardless. The heart will go to somebody regardless.
Some people really do try to be every bit as altruistic or professional about their obligations as is possible, even though you may have no knowledge of anybody like that.
If this weren't a black kid, again, nobody would really care. Race matters. And sometimes it seems like at the extremes it's the only thing that matters.
meanit
(455 posts)I don't think that every decision made by doctors in this or any other case always has to be "flawed". Quite the opposite, in fact. But do you think that doctors do not have directives or at least pressures from the for-profit hospital that pays them? Or from the for-profit insurance companies that pay the hospital?
Do you always do as you see fit in your job, or do you have a boss to answer to, or pressures from the people that pay you to do it their way? Doctors have to go by the system in place too. If you belong to an HMO, you know this already.
As for race being a factor? I have no idea if it is. But social and economic status in a for-profit system that should be non-profit? It think that is a fair thing to ask about.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)the reason of non-compliance is quite open ended, it can mean something as seemingly inconsequential as being late for an appointment-for any reason, the reasons being enumerated here not taking meds for instance are extreme and unlikely IMO
eilen
(4,955 posts)that is a stickler. No call no shows are particularly bad. It is really important for people to show up for doctor appointments when they have bad heart conditions. Not showing up for appointments usually leads to frequent ED visits. Waiting until you are in crisis to seek medical attention does not demonstrate a responsible attitude to one's health.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)the kid will be receiving a transplant after all
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014564421#post39
which in itself calls into question exactly what non-compliance meant
Igel
(37,256 posts)But at some point you stop and say the grief over saving lives isn't worth being disparaged and reviled by those who live for suspicion and ill will.
When fighting them consumes resources that could save lives, I'd probably start saying, "Fine--instead of having one dead kid, let's have two. Because if we don't, there'll be even more death."
The girl's family by getting her the first lung transplant killed somebody. They should be reminded that they bought their girl's life by sacrificing some stranger. That's America in 2013. We're all willing to sacrifice to help, as long as it's a "we" that means "anybody but me."
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)while noncompliance may be the listed reason, to say race didn't play into it possibly along with source of payment if the kid was on medicaid is ludicrous
I've heard providers comment that "they hated to see their tax dollars wasted on this kid" (American Indian and/or Black )
I've seen providers that will just because it amuses them make Medicaid patients sit for 2 hours or more in an exam room, I'm already paying for their care, "they can wait while I go have lunch"
dismiss a young Black man's complaints about joint pain as drug seeking when indeed his cancer had returned-they never checked it was realized until he collapsed and shortly there after died
Judi Lynn
(164,041 posts)COLGATE4
(14,883 posts)different place to work. How do you stand it?
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)and the places they occurred are well respected facilities too, not small clinics at all, I did not even begin on the adult stuff
I mentioned Medicaid because Medicaid like insurance does not pay what the facility charges, however if you have private insurance the facility can come after you for the remainder, they can not if you have Medicaid
eta: the links by MarkLaw are a good starting point to inform those who dismiss the potential for racial bias in this decision.
eilen
(4,955 posts)I work in adult cardiac care and we have many patients who are non-compliant but we still strive to give them the best care we can and whatever they need while we have them in admission. We had one lady who refused to answer the calls from the people who fit and monitor the life vest once she was discharged so would try to arrange their appointments while she was inpatient. She shows up in our ED at least every month and stays for a week or so (although I have not seen her lately). The kinds of heart problems that require a transplant also affect other organ systems such as the kidneys requiring dialysis in many cases. There is often a long healthcare history that would indicate compliance -- to appointments, meds, diet etc. The hospital/doctors are not going to disclose these things d/t HIPPA. Perhaps the problems the young man had in school and with the law impacted his ability to comply medically-- that could be. Managing chronic illness with adolescents has its challenges as they just want to have a normal life and often will practice denial. That in itself is not a reason to deny a teen a transplant but the compliance in medical regimen -- absent the family support needed may lead his doctors to believe in a higher risk of failure/rejection and complications. I would not be so quick to point to racism here. In fact, the first bone marrow transplant in Michigan was done on an African American boy with sickle cell and it cured him.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)however the incidents I enumerated all happened in pediatrics and it depended on thee provider in question too, now as to non-compliance I've done time in pediatric diabetes too, and there is some mind blowing non-compliance going on there, girls with type one diabetes sometimes purposely keep their blood sugar very high on purpose-why weight control , a type one diabetic can eat all they want and not gain weight or will lose weight very quickly if their insulin intake is reduced to an inadequate level, sounds ridiculous I know, but it happens more often than you might think
sgsmith
(398 posts)He's going on the transplant list, supposedly at number one slot.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/change-of-heart-hospital-agrees-to-give-15-year-ol/nZNQM/
eilen
(4,955 posts)satisfaction scores.
I hope he does well.
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)and is a war criminal? I was told that NONE of that matters be a few choice people here...so that was all a lie then?
warrant46
(2,205 posts)It was 1959 when Dick Cheney, then a student at Yale University, turned 18 and became eligible for the draft.
Eventually, like 16 million other young men of that era, Mr. Cheney sought deferments. By the time he turned 26 in January 1967 and was no longer eligible for the draft, he had asked for and received five deferments, four because he was a student and one for being a new father.
Omaha Steve
(108,289 posts)Then he tried to cover it up.
warrant46
(2,205 posts)
Dreamer Tatum
(10,985 posts)I see no problem with that. Organs aren't rubberbands or toothpicks - they are precious and
they come from people who have (generally) lost their lives. If there is ample evidence that
the recipient won't take care of something that the body is prone to reject anyway, why
waste it?
Yeah, call me a racist, whatever.
meanit
(455 posts)They gave Mickey Mantle the transplant anyway.
Status and money can indeed influence things like this.
Eugene
(66,728 posts)Source: Reuters
By David Beasley
ATLANTA | Tue Aug 13, 2013 6:06pm EDT
(Reuters) - A 15-year-old Atlanta boy went on the waiting list for a heart transplant two days after his family complained he was unfairly rejected because of past failure to take medicine and show up for doctor's appointments, his family told a TV station on Tuesday.
Anthony Stokes has an enlarged heart and could have less than six months to live without a transplant, his family said. Relatives told Atlanta television station WSB that Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Hospital had reversed course and added him to the wait list on Tuesday.
The family did not say why he was uncooperative, and the hospital would neither confirm or deny the reason, citing patient privacy.
"As we stated previously, a heart transplant evaluation is an ongoing process based on the patient and his or her family's ability to meet specific transplant criteria," the hospital said on Tuesday. "Our physician experts are continuing to work with this family to establish a care plan and determine the best next steps for the patient."
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/13/us-usa-georgia-heart-idUSBRE97C0YY20130813
Skittles
(169,206 posts)IT'S UNHEARD OF I TELL YOU
muntrv
(14,505 posts)
Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)MicaelS
(8,747 posts)Who gets the most publicity, who can generate the most sympathy gets the transplant?
Like Sarah Murnaghan, the 10 yr old girl who got TWO lung transplants?
Instead of letting the professionals who train for this make the decision?
hue
(4,949 posts)
okieinpain
(9,397 posts)cause any. my dad was threaten with being taken off a kidney list because he couldn't stop drinking. I kind of understand the doctors.