Organ Transplant System Isn't Fair-Cheney Favoritism

THE KUHNS REPORT
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LAS VEGAS - Hello America, and how is the world treating you?

On March 24, 2012, former Vice-President Dick Cheney, a seventy-one (71) year old man received a heart transplant. Did he get special treatment? Some think so. I personally know a person who had a double transplant, a heart and lungs. He was in his early sixties at the time and according to him, was told by doctors that the cut off date for any person to get a heart transplant was sixty-five (65) years-old and he made the cut by the skin of his teeth. However, after Cheney received the transplant some media heads purport that the the cut off age was seventy years old. Huh? Then, get this, another report on the evening news on 03/25/2012 said that doctors said a 71 year old man was within the age range to receive a heart transplant.

It's amusing how the medical transplant people can fudge and manipulate age in order to rationalize Cheney's heart transplant. I predict the medical ethics of Cheney's heart transplant will be a case study for years.

Folks, there were thousands of "young" people who were in line for the heart. As the situation stands at the present time transplant protocol is generally based on: time on the waiting list, a medical need and where a person lives determines the odds of receiving a new heart.

Cheney received his transplant in Falls Church, VA, the same place he got an implanted heart pump that had been keeping him alive since July 2010. Please note that the implanted heart pump is not a permanent fix. It is recommended the patient wear it for only (two years) . Surprise, surprise, Cheney receives a heart when the limits of the implanted heart pump was going to go belly-up. Coincidence? Maybe! Who knows? It just seems a little strange to me that all of a sudden he is reported to have been on a transplant list to coincide with the heart pump use limits and then had climbed to the top of the list for a new heart over younger patients where the survival rate would be more acceptable.

Remember, Cheney had severe congested heart failure and on top of that has had at least (five) heart attacks over the span of 25 years. He also experienced a large number of heart procedures such as: heart bypasses, angioplasty, pacemakers and surgery on his legs. Does that sound like the man is in good shape? Were there other patients awaiting a heart without so many detriments who could tolerate the stresses of the surgery and fight off the organ rejection factors? I would say, "yes."

Folks, with all of the past procedures Cheney has undergone to fight the congestive heart failure it is obvious that they took their toll on his body. Plus, the man is well over the upper limits to receive a new heart. Currently there are more than three thousand (3,000) Americans waiting for a new heart. About 330 of those waiting die each year before a new heart becomes available.

The organ transplant list is said to be a very regimented, fair process. The administrators say the lists are policed very closely. Personally, I have my doubts about that. Talk is cheap. Do you really think that the people handling the organ transplant lists cannot be swayed one way or the other for reasons only know to them or their group(s). Do some of the officials and health care personnel have an agenda? Could be. Could a person be moved up on the list? Have they been? Anything is possible. Has the health care people manipulated the health care system before? Yes, and it happens everyday in the health field.

Example: Just look at how the medicare program is ripped off each and every day for millions, even billions of dollars by people in the heath care field. There isn't a day that goes by that you cannot read in your local news about some person in the health field looking to scam the system for money, favoritism or prestige. Not in the too distant past, in Las Vegas, doctor Dipak Desai wanted to cut corners and he and some of his clinic employees (nurses) caused the largest Hepatitis outbreak in history by reusing syringes and needles on patients. Not long after that it was found other clinics and hospitals around the country were doing the same thing. Then, lets not forget the 100,000 or more deaths that are caused in hospitals by the health care professionals due to their errors.

In any event, back to the heart transplant list issue. Patients can get on more than one list if they have the bucks to afford the medical tests that each center may require to ensure eligibility. People with money, worldwide recognition, celebrity and/or power have indeed gamed the system.

Example: Robert Casey, former Governor of Pennsylvania was told he needed a double transplant in 1993. Guess what, the next day he received it. Does some people know how to work the system? Could be. And don't forget Mickey Mantle, the New York Yankee center fielder. It was 1995-when he was told he was critical. He was put on the waiting list and within 48 hours in Dallas, Texas he had a new liver. Keep in mind that in 1995, in Texas, the average wait on the list was 183 days. Was it money, fame, what? Then there was the couple that went on the Phil Donahue television Show and pleaded with the viewing audience for a heart for their dying son. During the show the couple received a call from a hospital in Michigan saying they would "donate' a heart to Loma Linda hospital for the child. The parents flew back to California to receive the donated heart. The sad part is- there was a baby in Kentucky that was on the top of the list for the heart.

People, that is just some examples of manipulation of the organ donor system that I see. I, for one, clearly don't have confidence in the lists and system itself. To me it resembles the legal system where two sets of laws apply - - one for the rich and famous and one for the little people. Do I think Cheney received favoritism over and above the thousand of others waiting for a new heart? Yes. Do I think he was well over the age-limit to receive a new heart? Yes. Do I think there might have been other people on the list more deserving both physically and emotionally than Cheney? Yes. Do I think Cheney was too sick and too old for the new heart? Yes. -And, that's my opinion. Make your own decisions in this matter. You decide.

Bradley Kuhns, Ph.D., O.M.D.
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Dr. Kuhns can be reached by e-mail at:
bradleykuhns@gmail.com