Did Hospital Kill Teen For His Organs?
An Ohio couple whose teenage son was injured in a snowboarding accident has filed a lawsuit, claiming his doctors harvested his organs before he was declared dead.
Eighteen-year-old Gregory Jacobs, of Bellevue, Ohio, suffered a "closed head injury" two years ago while snowboarding on a high school-sponsored ski trip in Findley Lake, N.Y.
He was airlifted to Hamot Medical Center in northwestern Pennsylvania, where he died.
The suit, which was filed earlier this month, claims doctors and a representative of The Center Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), a group that helps hospitals procure donated tissue, caused Gregory's death by administering medication and by removing his breathing tube.
Michael and Teresa Jacobs also allege that their son had not been formally declared brain dead when surgeons began the transplant procedure.
Hamot and CORE deny any wrongdoing). Hamot says, "The care that Gregory received throughout his course of treatment at Hamot following the severe head trauma he sustained was timely, appropriate and well-documented. Proper consent was received in order for his organs to be donated and the protocols that were followed were consistent with all established donation procedures. Any claims otherwise are completely baseless. ... We will vigorously defend against any accusations of wrongdoing."
A statement from CORE reads in part, "As in all donation cases, CORE followed all regulated medical protocols in the case of the Gregory Jacobs. The allegations against CORE are baseless and untrue."
On The Early Show Monday, co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez remarked to Michael and Teresa that many people would find it "preposterous" that a hospital would intentionally kill a young man for his organs.
"Well, it's not," Michael said.
Asked why he believes it, Michael replied, "Because they did. I know they did, by the evidence of that my wife has told me."
Teresa says, "The records indicated that they started harvesting procedures including the incision when he was alive. And he was not even pronounced dead until 29 minutes later. That's pretty shocking."
The Jabobs' attorney, Dennis Boyle added, "Our experts are telling us that, had his organs not been taken, he may very well have survived and recovered from this accident."
When Rodriguez noted that, "The hospital will tell you that they did everything on the up-and-up. ... They say Greg met the criteria for death technically."
"That simply is not the case," Boyle responded. "Even the hospital's own records show that he had brain stem function minutes before he was taken to the operating room to have his organs removed. He never met the criteria for brain dead. And, in fact, he never was dead or brain dead. You know, it is shocking, but I saw the hospital statements, and the only thing we can say is we're looking forward to going into court and presenting this evidence."
"To be fair," Rodriguez said, "I should say that the district attorney's investigation concluded that nothing criminal was done. The Center of Organ Recovery insists that they followed all the protocols. There seems to be, from all the investigations, no criminal liability. So why are you so strongly pursuing this?"
"Because," Teresa answered, "I believe that's false."
What does she hope will come of this?
"I would like to see the ones that are responsible for Greg's killing be held responsible," Teresa said.
Michael, who siged the consent form, recalled for Rodriguez that, "They tell you that your son's brain dead and that his organs can be used for children. It's a process that they use to convince you. When you feel there's no hope or you're told that there's just absolutely no hope and that he will be dead in so many hours, you know, I decided to sign the paper for organ donation. I signed that alone. My wife had no part of that."
Asked what message he has for other parents who may find themselves in that siuation, Michael said simply, "Don't do it. No one -- I found this out after OKing that -- no human on Earth has the right to tell someone else they can take somebody's organs. No piece of paper should ever be allowed. If that person isn't a donor, isn't signed up to be a donor, there should be no question about it."
His voice cracking, Michael continued, "It wasn't my right to do that to my son."
"You sound like you're carrying this awful guilt with you," Rodriguez observed.
"I am," Michael said. "Every day."
"I'm so sorry," Rodriguez said.
"So am I," Michael replied.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. Eighteen-year-old Gregory Jacobs, of Bellevue, Ohio, suffered a "closed head injury" two years ago while snowboarding on a high school-sponsored ski trip in Findley Lake, N.Y.
He was airlifted to Hamot Medical Center in northwestern Pennsylvania, where he died.
The suit, which was filed earlier this month, claims doctors and a representative of The Center Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), a group that helps hospitals procure donated tissue, caused Gregory's death by administering medication and by removing his breathing tube.
Michael and Teresa Jacobs also allege that their son had not been formally declared brain dead when surgeons began the transplant procedure.
Hamot and CORE deny any wrongdoing). Hamot says, "The care that Gregory received throughout his course of treatment at Hamot following the severe head trauma he sustained was timely, appropriate and well-documented. Proper consent was received in order for his organs to be donated and the protocols that were followed were consistent with all established donation procedures. Any claims otherwise are completely baseless. ... We will vigorously defend against any accusations of wrongdoing."
A statement from CORE reads in part, "As in all donation cases, CORE followed all regulated medical protocols in the case of the Gregory Jacobs. The allegations against CORE are baseless and untrue."
On The Early Show Monday, co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez remarked to Michael and Teresa that many people would find it "preposterous" that a hospital would intentionally kill a young man for his organs.
"Well, it's not," Michael said.
Asked why he believes it, Michael replied, "Because they did. I know they did, by the evidence of that my wife has told me."
Teresa says, "The records indicated that they started harvesting procedures including the incision when he was alive. And he was not even pronounced dead until 29 minutes later. That's pretty shocking."
The Jabobs' attorney, Dennis Boyle added, "Our experts are telling us that, had his organs not been taken, he may very well have survived and recovered from this accident."
When Rodriguez noted that, "The hospital will tell you that they did everything on the up-and-up. ... They say Greg met the criteria for death technically."
"That simply is not the case," Boyle responded. "Even the hospital's own records show that he had brain stem function minutes before he was taken to the operating room to have his organs removed. He never met the criteria for brain dead. And, in fact, he never was dead or brain dead. You know, it is shocking, but I saw the hospital statements, and the only thing we can say is we're looking forward to going into court and presenting this evidence."
"To be fair," Rodriguez said, "I should say that the district attorney's investigation concluded that nothing criminal was done. The Center of Organ Recovery insists that they followed all the protocols. There seems to be, from all the investigations, no criminal liability. So why are you so strongly pursuing this?"
"Because," Teresa answered, "I believe that's false."
What does she hope will come of this?
"I would like to see the ones that are responsible for Greg's killing be held responsible," Teresa said.
Michael, who siged the consent form, recalled for Rodriguez that, "They tell you that your son's brain dead and that his organs can be used for children. It's a process that they use to convince you. When you feel there's no hope or you're told that there's just absolutely no hope and that he will be dead in so many hours, you know, I decided to sign the paper for organ donation. I signed that alone. My wife had no part of that."
Asked what message he has for other parents who may find themselves in that siuation, Michael said simply, "Don't do it. No one -- I found this out after OKing that -- no human on Earth has the right to tell someone else they can take somebody's organs. No piece of paper should ever be allowed. If that person isn't a donor, isn't signed up to be a donor, there should be no question about it."
His voice cracking, Michael continued, "It wasn't my right to do that to my son."
"You sound like you're carrying this awful guilt with you," Rodriguez observed.
"I am," Michael said. "Every day."
"I'm so sorry," Rodriguez said.
"So am I," Michael replied.
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First of all, my condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones.
This is reason number 2 I am taking my name off the donor list. Until the donor corporation grows some ethics, I will not donate.
I wonder if they allow people who use their heroin pills (prescibed pain pills)to become recipients of donors.
Until the donor corporation grows some ethics by making donors available to everyone, I do not feel right about donating.
The issue should at least be open and clear. It should be called medical murder or opportune disposal and not "the gift of life." This is the main objection I have to organ donation.
I have done a lot of research into organ donation and undergone two lawsuits into a hospital's imprisonment of my son to set him up for harm and then try to get his organst. On the the basis of 6 years of experience with this issue firsthand ( and it is more than most people have on this comment board) I categorically declare that people ARE profiled, targeted, presumed, trapped, harmed and killed for their organs. Do not be a donor. This nonsense about the gift of life is a crime perpetrated against the gullible and those who have some warped religious justification for killing a family member who they subconsciously don't want to look after if he is brain damaged. The hospitals know who you are. They can read it in your behaviour. Every family in a neurology ward is assessed as "easy" or "hard" to convince. Make sure you aren't seen as a pushover, and remember hospital personnel are brainwashed or trained to size people up. Even they don't know what is really going on.
This is exactly the same thing as having a magazine or vacuum salesman at the door . Success depends on how fast you say, "I'm not interested" and slam the door shut. Greg's father unfortunately gave some indication he was a little bit interested. This was his big mistake, and why he won't likely get anywhere with his lawsuit. Organ donation (or legal human disposal) is increasingly seen as a "service" now like abortion. No one brings lawsuits after agreeing to have an abortion.
maybe we should start a club, an us or them, where donors are eligible to recieve organs if need be.
or better still, instead of needing consent to harvest from donor and family members, make people have to "opt out" of donating (and in a just world, opt out of ever recieving as well).
people **** me sometimes.
-disclaimer: written at 0625 while finish a night shift in a big city hospital.
Lastly ? the most common form of donation is tissue donation. Tissue donation is an option for families when their loved one has experienced cardiac death ? meaning the heart has stopped due to a heart attack, cancer, etc. This is the type of death most of us are familiar with, and much more common than dying from a traumatic brain injury, head trauma or anything else that might allow for organ donation. Tissue donation can include corneas, bone tissue, skin tissue, veins and heart valves (though not the entire heart). Upon your death, your family is much more likely to be approached for tissue donation than for organ donation.
The grieving dad said that no person should have the right to give consent for organ donation on behalf of another. Maybe ethically-speaking, he?s right. But legally speaking, as the law stands right now in most states, consent from the patient?s legal next-of-kin is still required in order to proceed with organ or tissue donation, regardless of whether a person has registered as a donor or not. Some states have recently changed their laws, and in these states, if a person has registered as a donor, consent from the next-of-kin (or NOK) is not required, but the families are often still approached and told about their loved one?s wishes, just as a courtesy and so that a medical/social history can be obtained.
If someone doesn?t have their wish to be a donor noted on their license (or documented anywhere else), we can?t assume that this means that they DIDN?T want to be a donor. Ignorance (not knowing whether or not something is true) doesn?t automatically make it untrue. Just because I don?t have a cup of water on my desk right now doesn?t mean I?m not thirsty. Maybe I just haven?t had a moment to get up and go to the water cooler. Maybe the water cooler is empty. At any rate, the fact that I don?t have a drink doesn?t mean I?m not thirsty. And by the same token, the fact that someone hasn?t registered as a donor doesn?t mean they don?t want to be. This highlights the importance of talking with your family about your wishes.
If you don?t wish to be a donor upon your death, make sure your family KNOWS that ? beyond any shadow of a doubt. Likewise, if you do wish to be a donor, make sure that your family knows THAT ? because it will make it infinitely easier for them if they ever find themselves in a tragic situation and are approached about donation on your behalf.
Yes ? his young boy?s death is a tragic, but the even greater tragedy here is how many additional lives will be lost due to the ignorance and misinformation that will be proliferated by this story. Any news organization that airs or publishes this story in such a biased way (without explaining the process of organ donation, but instead sensationalizing one family?s tragedy & grief) should be ashamed of themselves, and I hope they suffer many sleepless nights. They carry on their conscience all the lives that will be lost because people will see/read this story and refuse to be donors or give consent for donation on behalf of a loved one when offered that choice.