LOS ANGELES, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Vincent Medical Center announced today that it has placed its Liver Transplantation Program on temporary inactive status and that surgeons Dr. Richard Lopez and Dr. Hector Ramos are no longer directors of the program.
These developments follow the identification of a specific case in which established transplantation policies were not followed. The incident, which occurred in September 2003, involved the transplantation of a patient out of the order established by the national transplantation list maintained by United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the agency that regulates transplantation centers in the United States. St. Vincent Medical Center’s initial investigation indicates that falsified data was subsequently submitted to UNOS.
“This event appears to involve an individual who received a liver that was designated for transplantation in another patient,” said Gus Valdespino, president and chief executive officer of St. Vincent Medical Center. “Any breach of integrity regarding established transplantation procedures is unacceptable. We are conducting a thorough investigation of this case to find out why and how this happened, and to make sure it never happens again.”
The hospital’s internal investigation followed a routine audit by UNOS that identified areas for review, allowing the hospital to quickly identify the situation and take immediate action.
“The patients of the St. Vincent Medical Center Liver Transplantation Program are our highest priority,” stated Valdespino. “After thorough discussion with UNOS, our hospital board and medical staff leadership, we concluded that inactivation was in the best interest of our patients because we do not currently have sufficient surgeon availability.”
Temporary inactivation of the program means that St. Vincent Medical Center will not be offered livers by the organ procurement agency responsible for allocating organs in Southern California for any eligible patients on its waiting list until the program is reactivated. Patients may remain on the St. Vincent Medical Center list and receive care from the transplantation team or may request to be moved to an active center. The transplantation team is actively reaching out to patients and assisting them in ensuring that they receive the best possible care. Patients with questions who have not yet spoken with a member of the transplantation team can contact their nurse coordinator, the main transplant number (213) 484-5551 or call (866) 478-8462.
“We are actively expanding our investigation, developing a corrective action plan and working with UNOS and other regulatory agencies to share the information we have,” said Valdespino. “We deeply regret the impact this event has had on our patients, our dedicated transplantation team and the transplant community. However, we believe that our transplant program is vital to the community we serve and remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver compassionate healthcare of the highest quality. The rapid identification of the situation and immediate action taken gives us confidence in our ability to continue to serve our patients.”
CONTACTS: St. Vincent Medical Center Paul Silva (213) 484-5593 Aimee Corso (213) 484-7330
St. Vincent Medical Center
CONTACT: Paul Silva, +1-213-484-5593, or Aimee Corso, +1-213-484-7330,both of St. Vincent Medical Center
