Organ transplant bribery

MSNBC news reports that liver transplants were halted at one of California’s largest organ transplant centers after an audit discovered that a patient received a liver transplant well ahead of his place in the queue, and then doctors  falsified records to cover it up.   The case involves a Saudi national at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles, who was #52 on a transplant list that covers much of Southern California.   The transplant took place in 2003 and the Saudi Arabia Embassy paid $339,000 for the operation, up to 30% more than what the hospital would normally receive from medical insurance providers.  Sadly, the suspension of the liver program at St. Vincent means that life-saving transplants could be delayed for 75 patients currently on the center’s liver waiting list.  The audit which discovered the organ bribery was conducted by UNOS,  the United Network for Organ Sharing, a non-profit group that runs the national system of organ transplants in the United States.