Generous Organ Donors Put Their Heart into It.
A 50-year-old woman had a stroke at home, was brought to the hospital, and found to be brain dead. Her organs were removed for transplant and a 37 year-old diabetic man with kidney failure received one of her kidneys. He had been waiting five years for a transplant. Two months after the operation the Harvard-trained surgeon found out the donor actually died of uterine cancer, and it is alleged that he told the patient “don't worry about it.” The attorney for the surgeon stated that he thought long and hard about it, but did not remove the kidney. The patient did not fare well after the surgery, and he was told he was having trouble adapting to his new kidney. Seven months after the transplant operation the patient died. Autopsy revealed that the man died of uterine cancer which he contracted from the donor tissue. The hospital attorney admitted that there were several recipients of tissue from the deceased woman, so it is possible that a second or third shoe will eventually drop. The legal vultures are circling overhead.
Here's Looking at You, Kid.
It is a painful fact that so many seemingly intelligent young people get into binge drinking while trying to navigate young adult years. The latest craze, which is indeed a form of peer pressure lunacy, is vodka imbibition through the eyeball. Binge parties are sometimes highlighted by holding a bottle of vodka against the open eye and soaking up 40% alcohol through the mucus membrane, the exposed cornea and the tear ducts. It is painful, but the players claim that they get a very rapid high, although they must be three-sheets to the wind before the insane escapade. Corneal damage is real and can be permanent as the epithelium peels away, the corneal stroma becomes edematous and the inflammation is carried into intra-ocular structures. What price for a “quick rush!”
Some Animals are More Equal than Others. (Orwell)
What is sauce for the goose (lawyers) is not sauce for the gander (physicians). The overboard “red flag” rule of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires physicians and other health care professionals to notify proper authorities with any suspicion of identity theft. The American Bar Association brought litigation challenging the ruling, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that the FTC exceeded its authority in enforcing the rule against lawyers. In January, the American Medical Association petitioned the FTC to refrain from enforcing the rule against the health care industry, citing the ruling by the District Court, but the commission said Congress did not grant it the power to authorize such an exemption. Obviously, logic is not part of bureaucratic function.
Those You Trust the Most can Steal the Most.
A new book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot is now in circulation telling of the amazing contribution of this granddaughter of Virginia slaves to medical research around the world. Ms. Lacks, a 30 year old very attractive African-American woman, died of cervical cancer in 1951 after having given birth to five children. She died at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the only medical facility in that area which provided care for indigent black patients. Dr. George Gey was head of tissue research and had been repeatedly trying and failing to keep cells growing in his lab. Without obtaining permission nor giving any explanation, Dr Gey took a dime size biopsy of Ms. Lacks pelvic cancer and deposited the cells in his special growth media. To his surprise and great joy the cells almost doubled over night and continued to grow. He excitedly informed his colleagues, named the cells HeLa, and sent growing cultures to labs in Texas, India, Amsterdam, New York or wherever requested. Dr. Gey kept the donor identity secret and Henrietta Lacks was buried in a plain wooden box in an unmarked grave, never recognized for her gift. After Gey died in 1970, the secret came out at a dinner party when a scientifically-minded guest asked Lacks family members about possible relation to HeLa research. Only then did her descendants understand the immense magnitude of Henrietta's stolen contribution. HeLa cells have contributed immeasurably to medical research in a multitude of fields not just in cancer but in polio, in-vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping. Her cells have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for the pharmaceutical industry, but not one nickel for her family. If all HeLa cells ever grown could be laid end to end they would wrap around the earth at least three times, spanning more than 350,000,000 feet, according to one research scientist. Johns Hopkins and George Gey gained immense prestige for HeLa cultures, but do not celebrate Ms. Lacks' contribution, nor acknowledge the ethical conflict of stealing and exploiting her tissue. It is not on a level with the Tuskegee penicillin research, but shows the ugly racial attitude of the 1950s.
This Infectious Disease may Soon be Called MRSA-CRSA.
A study was recently published in the journal Pediatrics evaluating 25 children's hospitals admissions of 30,000 children for MRSA (methicillin-resistant staph aureus) infections over the past ten years. The lead author, Jason Newland, M.D., an infection disease specialist at Children's Mercy Hospital at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, found that the numbers have increased 10 fold over a decade. Most of the diagnoses were for skin or muscle infection and 374 patients died, but it was not certain if the deaths were due to MRSA. The initial infection is often a pimple or furuncle which can rapidly spread to deeper tissue, lungs or bones. The study noted a coinciding rise in use of clindamycin, a popular and easy to take antibiotic which MRSA are frequently found to resist. “Staph are incredibly cagey and will ultimately find their way around any antibiotic,” said Dr. Newland.
In the History of the World it is the Absurd that Appeals to the Martyr.
Shock, horror and disbelief is an apt description to the Fort Hood massacre of November 5, 2009 when U.S. Army Major Nidel Hasan, a physician psychiatrist, allegedly shot and killed thirteen officers and enlisted men and wounded 32 others. According to Senators Joe Lieberman (Ind. Conn.) and Susan Collins (Rep. Maine) of the Governmental Affairs committee, this officer's associates and superiors had for years been aware of his growing Islamist radicalization. The FBI and the Department of Defense were aware of e-mails he exchanged with radical Yemenis. To review the massacre, the administration hand-picked outsiders who were formerly with the Justice or Defense Departments, but to date the administration has withheld crucial information from Homeland Security and the Governmental Affairs committee. The excuse for refusing this vital information to appropriate oversight people is that it might compromise witness testimony at a trial. That sounds much like the rhetoric of the previous administration, and is rather lame for an administration that came into office promising honesty and transparency.
It is as Natural to Die as to be Born.
A sad commentary on the times is the loss of the 107 year-old Honolulu Medical Group (HMG). The last four physicians remaining in the practice sent messages to their patients notifying them of the relocation of their offices. The HMG was established in 1903 and is one of Hawaii's oldest medical practices. Their numbers were as many as 46 doctors and specialists in the mid-1980s and the group was touted as the one-stop medical center including a team of internists, pediatricians, ob/gyns, ophthalmologists, and dermatologists. Their numbers gradually eroded until 10 doctors were left in space designed for 50 plus, the HMG could not pay the rent, and chapter eleven bankruptcy was declared last November. The major creditor, Queen's Development Corp., might have re-negotiated the rent, but could not do so because of the “Stark statute.”
When the Market Crashes, There's Always a Way Out for the Rich.
The five bedroom, five-and-a-half bath, 5,182 square foot ocean front home, located on a 1.65 acre Makena estate was on the market for six months and recently sold for $19.85 million, a new record for residential property on Maui. Originally listed for $38 million, it was discounted to $27.5 million before the “give-away” price just under $20 million. Apparently some folks have escaped the recession.
Who Approaches, Friend or Enema?
In China a 59-year-old chef consumed large amounts of alcohol and fell asleep at a party. While he was unconscious his “friends” inserted a live eel into his rectum. He had severe rectal bleeding and died ten days later in a hospital intensive care unit of hemorrhage and sepsis. Findings at autopsy included a dead eel which had eaten through the man's bowel wall.
Addenda
According to a British survey 20% of women who have ended a relationship did so because their significant other was addicted to a video-game.
In the last year and one-half, belief in global warming has dropped from 71% to 57%.
May 15, 1940, is the birthdate of nylon stockings.
Fido means “faithful” in Latin.
If four out of five people suffer from diarrhea, does that mean that one enjoys it?
Aloha and keep the faith — rts
(Editorial comment is strictly that of the writer.)