WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2009-03-05 Time: 12:00:15 Posted By: Jan
By Nondumiso Mbuyazi
With more than 3 500 people waiting for organ donation, a Durban family is angry that their son’s organs could not be used to save any of those lives.
The family has accused medical personnel at King Edward VIII Hospital of being incompetent after their son, a registered organ donor, died before his organs could be harvested and donated to transplant recipients.
And it has been revealed that many organs “go to waste” because of a lack of funding and training at government hospitals.
| ‘His organs could have saved so many lives’ |
After being involved in a car accident, Pierre van den Bussche, 27, of Durban, was transported to the beleaguered hospital, where he was declared brain dead by doctors.
However, instead of removing his organs, including his kidneys, lungs, heart and liver, his disgruntled family said hospital personnel seemed “confused” and did not know what procedure to follow, thus resulting in him dying before his organs could be harvested. Only after his heart stopped was his cornea tissue harvested and donated to two men.
Hospital spokesperson Nontobeko Ndlela said the hospital could not comment on the allegations as they still needed to investigate. KZN Health Department spokesperson Sebe Zwane said they are aware of the case, but are still waiting for a full report from the hospital. The Daily News requested comment more than a week ago.
A source from the department said the hospital does not have donor co-ordinators who are responsible for organ donation.
Van den Bussche’s enraged family accused hospital personnel of negligence, adding that there was a dire need for qualified and knowledgeable nurses trained to identify organ donors.
Van den Bussche’s mother, Louise, who is also a registered organ donor, said she was saddened that her son’s organs were not harvested before his heart stopped. “His organs could have saved so many lives,” she said.
Van den Bussche was involved in a serious accident on February 1, and after doctors informed his family that he was brain dead, his family told them that his organs could be removed and donated to transplant recipients.
Louise recalled what happened that unfortunate day: “The accident happened around 12.30am and Pierre was transported to the hospital shortly after that. I arrived there at 6am and to my surprise he was still lying in the waiting rooms unattended to.
“His twin brother was there and he gave them all the necessary information, so I don’t know what took them that long to attend to him, knowing that he was in a critical state,” she recalled.
According to his family, Van den Bussche had an organ donation card in his driver’s licence, and everyone in his family knew that if anything happened to him, his wish was to donate his organs.
His father, Vincent, said when he arrived at the hospital, doctors told him that they doubted whether his condition would improve.
“We told the doctor that Pierre was an organ donor and his organs needed to be removed before he died. When we went back to the hospital the next day he had been transferred to Inkosi Albert Luthuli hospital, but no one had even bothered to tell us, although they had our contact details,” he said.
Vincent said his son was subsequently transported back to King Edward hospital.
“They said they needed the bed, and because he had been stabilised, he had to be transported back to King Edward,” he said.
However, his condition deteriorated while he was at King Edward and he was declared brain dead by the doctors. Vincent said when they were informed of this development, they prepared themselves for him to become an organ donor in accordance with his wishes.
Vincent said although they informed the staff, no-one gave them the necessary forms to sign.
A day after he was declared brain dead, Van den Bussche’s heart stopped. He died before his wishes could be fulfilled and his organs went to “waste”.
“The nurses called to inform me that he had passed away and she asked me what they must do with him, because he’s an organ donor. This clearly showed that they were uneducated about organ donation,” said Vincent.
Philippa Douglas, executive director of the Organ Donor Foundation said because of the budget-cutting by the health department, organ donations at government hospitals were often hindered by the lack of equipment and knowledgeable staff. “Because of the scarcity of hospital beds and ventilators at government hospitals, we have sadly lost so many donors.
“The hospitals just don’t have enough funds to keep people alive on life support,” she said.
She said the Organ Donor Foundation’s aim was to increase awareness about organ donation among medical and paramedical professionals.
Netcare KZN regional transplant manager, Venessa Wentink, said it had never encountered any difficulties with organ donation.
Subsequent to his death, Van den Bussche’s corneal tissue was harvested and donated to the KZN Cornea and Eye Association. The association’s manager, Carol Guzovic said Van den Bussche’s corneal tissue have given the “gift of sight” to two young men.
“They were successfully grafted and the two men are well on the road to recovery. We thank the donor family for their courageous decision during their saddest moments,” she said.