born with cystic fibrosis. She was given a lung transplant, but it appears the donor was a smoker. Wederell then died from lung cancer on August 24 — 16 months after received the diseased lung.
Wederell was never told that the donor was a smoker. She had been waiting for 18 months when she was told that the hospital was a match. She was never given a choice to wait longer for non-snoker donor. She was diagnosed within a year with lung cancer. These transplants tend to come with long waivers saying that there is no guarantee of the condition of the organ or prior habits of donors. However, this would seem gross negligence by the hospital and in the very least a failure to obtain informed consent.
England however is very different from the U.S. in the torts area. On informed consent, the English courts have proven quite hostile to U.S. rules of liability. This is a case where some liability could be an effective deterrent and prompt more disclosure by hospitals.
Do you think that there should be liability in such cases?
Source: Telegraph