Following the death of a donor last month, UCSF Medical Center has voluntarily suspended the donor aspect of its kidney transplant program.
The donor’s cause of death are presently under investigation by regulatory officials as well as the hospital.
Dr. Steven Katznelson, medical director of California Pacific Medical Center’s kidney transplantation program in S.F., was quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle as having referred to the recent death of a donor as a “nightmare scenario” that surgeons who perform such transplants live in fear of.
We worry about it every day (…) For a healthy person who goes under general anesthesia, there’s always a risk.
UCSF indicated in a statement that the the safety of their patients is a “top priority” and that they’re making “every effort” to understand what led to the donor’s death.
The safety and well-being of our patients is our top priority, and every effort is being made to understand what happened. We are deeply saddened by this tragic event
The recipient of the kidney now has a functioning transplant.
While the kidney transplant program has been suspended, the hospital’s other transplant programs continue, CBS San Francisco reports.
Since 1964, UCSF Medical Center has performed over 10,000 kidney transplants.
According to the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network, only four donors lost their lives at U.S. transplant centers within 30 days of having donated their kidneys between the years of 2009 and 2013 — none of which were at UCSF Medical.
In 2014, there were two deaths reported as a result of such transplants and another two — including the one at UCSF — this year.
While UCSF has suspended the donor aspect of its kidney transplantation program, the SF Chronicle reports that it will continue to transplant the kidneys of living and deceased donors into recipients.
