Tragedy multiplied by family's decision

Tragedy can, and does strike without notice and with no credence given to age, ethnicity or religion. Tragedy doesn't care if you are wealthy or penniless. It is random and without reason.

The two catastrophic club incidents in Chicago and West Warwick, R.I., are prime examples of how random and seemingly senseless tragedy can be, with 21 people killed in a stampede at the club in Chicago and, at last report, 97 killed in the deadly pyrotechnic display gone wrong at the club in Rhode Island. Reason would dictate that none of the people who died in these calamities had a notion anything of this magnitude would occur as they set out for their evening entertainment -- a simple night out with friends, not typically considered a high-risk occasion. Other endeavors or choices we make during the course of a day or lifetime has considerably higher risk. The astronauts aboard the Columbia space shuttle were certainly aware of the perils they could face, but bravely chose to forge ahead despite the inherent risks the journey held. While everyone was aware of the danger, the shuttle disaster was no less traumatic for the friends and family of the shuttle crew, or for the nation.

The family of young Jesica Santillan, the 17-year-old who died last week after the botched heart-lung transplant, was surely counseled on the potential risks the transplant surgery held, but chose to move forward with the procedure despite the possible complications. It isn't likely the pre-surgery counseling included the possibility of receiving the wrong blood-type organs. As news spread of the bungled transplant, people across the nation were outraged that such shoddy procedures were practiced and accepted at this, or any, major medical center.

It is almost certain that in each of the above tragedies, with the possible exception of the Columbia disaster, there will be legal actions to follow. It is the norm in today's society to seek legal recourse when we are wronged. It is also our right. Should someone harm our family, or us, either through his or her direct or indirect actions, we should be compensated for our loss. Oftentimes, the lawsuits bring about benefits other than the monetary award. Changes in code, better evacuation procedures, increased security or safety features are all results of actions brought against negligent people or businesses.

With that said, the decision of the Santillan family to not donate Jesica's organs after she was declared brain dead not only saddened, but shocked me as well. To not reciprocate the selfless act of organ donation just seemed wrong to me. Then to find out, according to reports on CNN and in USA Today, the family attorney is the person who counseled them not to donate her precious organs raised my blood pressure a bit more.

The attorney's decision to request an autopsy that made organ donation an impossibility would make perfect sense and be completely understandable if the head of the surgical team had not already accepted full responsibility for the botched transplant. Officials at Duke University Medical Center have readily admitted their procedures failed to have a safeguard or double-check system. They publicly admitted the error. What more does the attorney hope to gain by having an autopsy performed? As the complaint moves forward through the courts, there will be little the surgical team or hospital can offer as a defense.

It's certainly not my intent to minimize the grief of the Santillan family, or excuse the medical center for their costly mistakes. The pain Jesica's family is suffering is deeply profound to be certain, but no more profound as the two families who were so generous in donating the organs young Jesica received in the two transplant surgeries she underwent.

And even if it were absolutely necessary to perform an autopsy on the transplanted organs Jesica received, wouldn't it still be possible to donate her kidneys, eyes or liver?

It just seems so deeply selfish to be so willing to accept the most precious gift of another's organs, organs only obtained through the tragedy and loss suffered by another family, only to turn your back on the very program that should have saved your daughter's life, a program that in all likelihood would have saved that precious life if not for the negligence of the hospital and surgical team.

The Santillan family had a wonderful opportunity to offer the very hope for life they were filled with only a few days earlier to another family. It's unfortunate they were not allowed, or were unable to make the unselfish choice.

Kari Sleight is publisher of Frontiersman.