Second Death of Kidney Live-Donor Occurs in New York

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The risk [of death] is estimated at 0.03 percent, or 3 out of every 10,000 surgeries.

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 09, 2012

A kidney donor and mother of a two-year-old child recently died from complications after an organ transplant procedure accident that caused her to bleed to death. According to a June 6, 2012 CBS 2 New York report, the procedure took place at Montefiore Hospital, which has shut down operations of its renowned transplant program until additional investigations can take place.

According to CBS 2 New York, a hospital spokesperson said: “This is a heartbreaking situation in so many ways… in rare situations like this, it is still readily apparent that medicine is far from perfect. … In 40 years we have never experienced a loss such as this.”

The CBS 2 Article went on to state that the intended recipient of the kidney, a male relative of the victim, did not receive the transplant after the complications that occurred.

Montefiore notes on its Web page that, "the risk [of death] is estimated at 0.03 percent, or 3 out of every 10,000 surgeries." The hospital notes it has successfully performed 35000 kidney transplants since 1967 and 1000 of those have been live-donor transplants.

The accident has sparked discussions of necessary oversight over doctors and medical procedures, particularly when organ donors are acting as heroes and putting their lives on the line.

A similar case occurred in another New York hospital in late 2008. According to the court affidavit [State of New York: Court of Claims, Claim No.:116794], Michael King donated a kidney to his wife and died as a result of an artery-closing clip, called the Hem-o-Loc clip. The clip, recalled from the market for use in these types of surgeries in 2006, caused the patient to bleed profusely.

Per the court affidavit, the Michael King case occurred at another New York hospital, SUNY Downstate Medical Center. The medical examiner ruled the polymer clip used to close off an artery after the kidney was removed, failed. The FDA previously recalled the use of the Hem-o-Loc clip for laparoscopic kidney-donor surgeries because it could become dislodged and lead to death by bleeding.

Jeff Korek, the lawyer for the King family and a past president of the New York State Trial Lawyer’s Association, was quoted by the New York Post on December 21, 2008 as saying: "It's inconceivable that on a weeknight in a major New York hospital, no surgeon was able to assist Mr. King. If you need immediate surgery, where better to be than in a hospital?"

The King family is currently being represented by Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. in Supreme Court of the State of New York County of Kings [Case Index No. : 10344/2009].

According to their website, Jeff Korek and the medical malpractice attorneys of Gersowitz, Libo & Korek, P.C. have been committed to the relentless pursuit of victims’ rights in New York and New Jersey for over 25 years, focusing on personal injury, medical malpractice and product liability. For more information on the firm, visit http://www.lawyertime.com.

To reach Jeff Korek for comment, please contact Gersowitz, Libo & Korek, P.C. at 800-LAW-9997.

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