I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: News Articles => Topic started by: okarol on May 26, 2009, 02:09:19 PM
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You should have let him die: Daughter hits out at doctors who gave suicidal man a liver transplant
By Andrew Levy
Last updated at 7:34 PM on 26th May 2009
A daughter has hit out at the NHS after doctors saved the life of her manic depressive father following an attempted drug overdose.
Nadine Woods, 29, said her father, David, was given a liver transplant without her family's consent when the organ was seriously damaged by the suicide bid.
The father-of-three recovered but was left with brain damage from the painkillers he swallowed, leaving him 'trapped' in a specialist care home where he receives round-the-clock treatment and still 'obsesses' about taking his life.
Miss Woods accused the NHS of wasting a healthy liver on her father when it could have been used to save the life of another patient.
The case has reignited the debate over people's right to die, with pro-euthanasia organisations demanding patients' wishes are respected, while pro-life groups said doctors should always fight to save people in their care.
Receptionist Miss Woods, from Papworth Everard, Cambridgeshire, said: 'I never wanted to lose my dad but I also never wanted him to be saved.
'It is shameful that a donor has wasted his liver and it's horrible to think someone else could have been enjoying a healthy life.
'My dad has not had a day's happiness since the operation. All he thinks about is wanting to die. He is obsessive about it.'
Miss Woods added the distress caused by her 56-year-old father's suffering means she is now considering taking him to the controversial Dignitas assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland where he would be able to end his 'abysmal' quality of life.
The clinic has so far helped more than 100 Britons to kill themselves.
'I keep saying that I will give him another year but most of the time I think it's the kindest thing I could do to my dad. Every day is torture for him. I am prepared to go to jail if necessary,' she said.
Former office furniture salesman Mr Woods has suffered from bipolar disorder and depression since he was 16.
He and his wife Margo, also 56, separated in 1991 and divorced a few years later.
Last night she said she was astonished a liver had been made available for him after his suicide attempt.
The care worker added: 'David fully intended taking his own life because he'd had enough of the condition he was in.
'He has had a wretched existence for the past 18 years as he deteriorated.
'He's certainly not better off than he was before he took the overdose. In fact he is worse because of the brain damage.
'The doctors knew there would be brain damage but went ahead anyway.'
A suicide attempt - described as a 'cry for help' - failed in June 2006 but in December that year he took a massive overdose of painkillers.
He was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge where doctors estimated he was going to die within 24 hours from liver failure.
Miss Woods rushed to the hospital with her brother Ashley, 27, and sister Laura, 21, but were told the operation had already gone ahead by the time they arrived.
It later emerged surgeons had acted on the advice of a psychiatrist who said Mr Woods had a good quality of life when healthy.
A few months later, 'living wills' came into effect under the Mental Capacity Act, allowing patients to refuse treatment such as hydration and nutrition.
Miss Woods claims her father would have written one if they had been available when he took the overdose.
Mr Woods spent six weeks in a coma after the operation before he was transferred to a psychiatric unit.
He was then moved to a £260-a-week specialist care unit in Littleport, near Ely, in February last year, because the brain damage had robbed him of skills including cleaning or cooking for himself.
Miss Woods added: 'Over time, he slowly started to remember what happened and realised he was ten times worse off than before.
'I love my dad and don't want to see him die but I can't bear to watch him suffering like this.'
Pro-euthanasia group Dignity in Dying criticised doctors for going ahead with the transplant and advised people to make living wills to indicate their wishes in life-threatening situations.
Campaigns officer Jo Cartwright said: 'Mr Woods' case is a tragic example of a patient not having his wishes respected.
'It is very important that vulnerable people are protected but it is also important for the patient to be at the centre of health care decisions wherever possible.'
But Andrew Fergusson, of pro-lifers Care Not Killing, said: 'It is always right for doctors to presume in favour of life.
'The medical picture was complicated by the question of David's depression and whether wishes he may have expressed reflected his genuine capacity and were therefore valid in law.'
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust, which appoints psychiatrists in the area, said: 'If someone comes into A&E having decided to take their own life, they are referred for a mental health assessment by a psychiatrist.
'Doctors might not be able to get the patient's consent for transplant. They would ideally consult the family but it is not the family's decision and sometimes there is simply no time to wait.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1187949/You-let-die-Daughter-hits-doctors-gave-suicidal-man-liver-transplant-wasting-organ.html#
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I read through this twice and think I will read it again. How does someone who has attempted suicide, receive a liver transplant immediately? We know too many people who can't get listed. Am I missing something? I know I get "foggy" somedays, so if anyone can see what I am missing, let me know.
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No, you're not foggy. It was a situaiton where they had a liver available, and likely no other recipients in region. Not wanting to "waste" the liver (as in send it to another region and not get reimbursed for the transplant) they put it in this guy. Sad, really.
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It occurred in England and they evidently have different rules to whom they give transplants in such circumstances.
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I knew it was in England. It just makes no sense, no matter what country. Usually, mental stability is a red flag for any part of the transplant experience. I would love to know how Brits feel about this particular case.
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As a Brit I agree with Paris that on the face of it,i t makes no sense wherever it was carried out. I don't think this can be the full story as I really can't believe there wasn't someone else who could use the liver and who wanted it. The only thing I can think is that as they couldn't get hold if the family (apparently) they did the transplant rather than risk getting sued for not saving his life as Drs are supposed to up hold and save lives first and foremost. We have such a lot of really silly rules these days to stop people suing (like you can't get a decent hot cup of tea or coffee anywhere now in case someone spills it on themselves and sues the cafe etc) But it still makes no sense!
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I don't know what to think about this. People get mad when they feel like someone has gets better treatment for one reason or another. And although I agree they should have asked the family before giving him a liver, I don't feel like he shouldn't have gotten it. The doctors didn't know how he would come out of it. He might have woken up and saw it as a second chance and lived a very happy life and he might still. I don't think it is right to not give him one. But I do think they should have checked with the family first.
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Pretty bizzarre situation. Sort of makes me think you can't win. The saddest thing really is this poor guy being so sick and unhappy all his life - maeks me realise there way worse things than dialysis I guess. Sad story.
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Hmmm interesting topic. Tough call there, but I know until I got a clearance from a psychologist I wasn't on the list. Manic Depressive Disorder is just that and getting a new organ wasn't going to change it. I would hate to think someone else went without for this man, but we don't have all the details to make a judgment on that.
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Here's what it said in our local paper - I didn't realise the suicide attempt was 3 years ago, I'd thought it was recent by the first article. Perhaps this explains it a bit more?
"The daughter of a mentally ill man, formerly from Mid Wales, has accused the NHS of wasting a liver transplant on her father after he tried to commit suicide.
David Woods, 56, originally from Llansantffraid, now living in Cambridge, had liver transplant surgery earlier this year.
But his daughter Nadine Woods, 29, has criticised the NHS for giving him the transplant after he tried to commit suicide in 2006.
She said her father has the mental age of six following the suicide attempt, but doctors at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, went ahead with the surgery on the advice of a psychiatrist"
from
http://www.shropshirestar.com/2009/05/28/liver-transplant-wasted/