Responding to problems that have caused three California organ
transplant programs to close in the past year, California lawmakers
stressed the need for better regulation of organ transplant
programs at a hearing Tuesday.
But UC officials said that with nothing definite proposed, it is
not yet possible to know how such laws may affect UC hospitals and
transplant centers.
The UCLA Medical Center has a transplant program, but it has not
seen the type of problems that other institutions have, and the
impact new regulations might have on the program is currently
unclear.
The Assembly Health Committee, a group that oversees medical
practices statewide, said the state may need to consider toughening
its organ transplant laws in order to prevent patients from being
placed in programs with low survival rates or inadequate staff. One
proposed regulation, for example, would be to institute fines
against hospitals for failing to meet standards of quality.
In making their decision, members of the Assembly Health
Committee cited transplant problems that led to the closure of UCI
Medical Center in Orange, St. Vincent Medical Center in Los
Angeles, and Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco. They also noted
concerns regarding USC University Hospital in Los Angeles.
Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Eureka, said the hearing was
“a call to action at all levels to make improvements to the
system and to restore faith in the organ procurement and
transplantation system,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
Though lawmakers say legislation is needed, definite reform
plans have not yet been drawn out, leaving UC officials unsure as
to how such legislation may affect the UC’s hospitals and
other medical programs.
“Without something that is actually there, it’s hard
to say how it would affect us,” said Dale Tate, a spokeswoman
for UCLA Health Sciences.
She added that UCLA already thoroughly regulates its organ
transplant system.
“We do a good job of overseeing our own programs,”
Tate said.
But the problems at other programs in the state have led to
concerns about how far institutions can adequately regulate
themselves.
UCI Medical Center terminated its program after federal
officials from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid withdrew their
certification in November 2005. Officials at the United Network for
Organ Sharing and the U.S. Health Resources and Services
Administration claimed that UCI had misled them about its program
by never bringing on a doctor as a full-time surgeon. More than 30
people died waiting for a liver at UCI during 2004 and 2005.
St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles closed its doors after
its doctors were found to have bypassed over 50 patients on the
hospital’s transplant waiting list. Kaiser Permanente in San
Francisco shut down after the HMO improperly transferred hundreds
of patients to a new program, resulting in delays for many
transplant patients.
Other colleges and universities have also been affected. USC
University Hospital’s liver transplant program has one of the
highest death rates in the nation, with twice as many patients as
expected dying after surgery, the Los Angeles Times reported last
month.
Still, some health experts stressed that most transplant
programs in California are solid.
“If your concern is that this is rampant behavior, I
assure you it’s not,” said William Lawrence, director
of patient affairs for the United Network for Organ Sharing,
according to the Los Angeles Times.