Suit: Doctors Pressured to Declare Patients Brain Dead

It says organ donor network is to blame
By Liam Carnahan,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 26, 2012 2:21 PM CDT
Suit: Doctors Pressured to Declare Patients Brain Dead
A NYC lawsuit claims that the New York Organ Donor network pressured doctors to declare patients brain dead.   (?MilitaryHealth)

A lawsuit filed against the New York Organ Donor Network claims that the organization pressures doctors to declare patients brain dead so their organs can be harvested, reports the New York Post. The suit's plaintiff, nurse practitioner Patrick McMahon, worked as a transplant coordinator for the network for just four months before he was fired. The nonprofit called his allegations "ridiculous."

The suit lays out four examples of cases in which it says officials from the donor network pressured hospital doctors to declare a person dead despite what McMahon says were signs of brain activity. Why on earth would doctors just go along? The suit, or at least the story, doesn't spell that out. The lawsuit also alleges that the network puts the hard sell on next of kin to allow organs to be harvested, if the deceased isn't registered. (More organ transplants stories.)

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