Johns Hopkins Medicine doctors made history although at least one doctor says what they did might be considered illegal.
The surgeons performed the first five-way kidney transplant in five simultaneous surgeries Nov. 14.
“This joyous event is overshadowed by the shocking truth that the legality of what we?ve done here is unclear,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery, chief of Hopkins? Division of Transplantation.
During the five-way transplant, all but one donor gave a kidney to a compatible stranger with the expectation that his or her family member would receive a kidney from another donor.
This quid pro quo factor may be considered illegal depending upon how one interprets the National Organ Transplant Act, which states that “donors cannot receive valuable consideration for donating organs.”
Lawmakers established the act in the early 1980s ? before domino transplants became a reality ? to prevent donors from receiving money or other compensation for their kidneys.
Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., recently introduced a bill that would clarify the law, allowing a national program to begin matching incompatible recipient and donor pairs with altruistic donors. The bill is expected to come up for vote in the next few months.
Starting at 7:15 a.m. and lasting until 5:30 p.m., the surgery performed Tuesday involved more than 100 health care workers, including 12 surgeons, 11 anesthesiologists and 18 nurses.
Sheila Thornton from Edgewood and four other patients could have waited five years or moreto receive a kidney. However, thanks to the innovative program developed by Hopkins specialists, the wait was over.
Four of the patients initially traveled to Hopkins with a relative who was willing to donate, but incompatible. Thornton was the only patient waiting for a kidney from a dead person.
“The overwhelming feelings of gratitude are almost inexplicable, especially since the way I got it from somebody who didn?t even know me. How do you thank someone who saved your life?” Thornton said. The 63-year-old has been on dialysis for the past four years and received a new kidney from Florida resident Sandra Loevner, whose husband was not able to accept Loevner?s organ.
Hopkins? cross-matching system and the generosity of charitable donor Honey Rothstein allowed the five candidates to receive a compatible organ from the four family members willing to donate. Rothstein, a West Virginia resident, did not have a family member in the transplant.
After losing her husband and daughter in separate accidents and illnesses, Rothstein decided to donate her kidney.
“I couldn?t save my daughter so I think it?s wonderful I?m giving something to someone else?s daughter,” Rothstein said. She never expected the domino effect of transplants that her selfless act set into motion.
Donors and recipients in the monumental surgeries included Rothstein, three married couples and a mother and daughter. They traveled to Baltimore from California, West Virginia, Florida, Maine and Canada. The operation came to fruition in the midst of what Hopkins doctors called a crisis.
“Today 70,000 Americans languish on dialysis waiting for a kidney for five years. In those five years, more than 30,000 die or become too sick to receive a transplant,” Montgomery said.
There are 6,000 willing live donors in the U.S. who are incompatible with their intended recipients, according to Hopkins specialists.
Three steps to becoming a kidney donor
» 1. Educate yourself on the risks and benefits of kidney donation by visiting the National Kidney Foundation?s Web site at www.kidney.org
» 2. Contact your local transplant center for physical and psychological testing
» 3. For a list of all U.S. transplant centers, go to www.unos.org/members/search.asp
