RE: foreign visitors having txs in the US?

[Guest guest]

-----Original Message-----

My question is - is

it possible for a foreign politician to come to the US

for a liver tx and jump the queue (if that's what

happened)

“Someone from abroad can get a transplant in the

US

but there are many obstacles to overcome. First, not

all centers will put some one from abroad on a transplant list, though most

will look at individual circumstances. Second, most lists in the US

range from 6 to 18 months. One way around the wait, is for someone

to consider a center that does living donor transplants. In

that case, if they bring a donor with them, they would not have to worry about

being placed on a transplant list.”

But now…….The Rest of The Story:

Selling Organs to Saudis

By Carnell

Monday, October 17, 2005

Imagine

you need a liver transplant, but there's a problem. There

is, of course, a shortage of organs and unfortunately you are the 52nd person

on the list in your region. What do you do?

Well, if

you're a Saudi national, you pull some strings, and you get the Royal Embassy

of Saudi Arabia to agree to pay the hospital about 25 percent more than a

typical liver transplantation would cost. Mysteriously,

you then go

to the top of the list and get your liver.

At least

that's what happened at St.

Medical Center

in California. Staff

at the hospital allegedly falsified numerous documents in order to cover up the

blatant sale of the liver to the Saudi national.

In fact, St.

's appears to have been the place to get a liver if you

happened to be a wealthy foreigner. Nationally, the United Organ

Sharing Network decrees that no more than 5 percent of organs should go to

foreigners. Nationwide the rate is much lower,

according to the Los Angeles Times, but at St. 's

8 percent of all liver transplants at the hospital went to foreigners(and

St. 's is a very large transplantation center).

St. 's organ transplantation program

has been suspended and UNOS is still investigating. What

they should do in response to this is to create an open market in organs and

allow the rest of us to get in on the money. Organ

selling -- its not just for corrupt California

hospitals anymore.

Source: Hospital

Halts Organ Program. Los

Angeles Times, September

27, 2005.