Surgeon in the US accused of hastening organ donor's death

Every day roughly 18 people in the US die while sitting on a waiting list for an organ transplant. It's a waiting game for many in the states, in part because tight regulatory controls govern organ harvesting procedures. A surgeon in the US, Dr Hootan Roozrokh, has been accused of artificially hastening a patient's death in order to retrieve the organs. The events that led to Roozrokh being charged, took place in San Luis Obispo, California, in 2006. A patient named Ruben Navarro, who suffered from a neurological disorder was admitted to an area hospital after suffering cardiac and respiratory arrest. Navarro was about to turn 26. His mother, had planned a birthday party to celebrate. Ruben was her only child.

In the days following his admission, Navarro was judged to be near death. His mother was informed that her son was beyond help and that instructions had been given to remove his life support system. The mother agreed to donate his organs.

Roozrokh was part of a transplant team at the hospital at the time. He allegedly broke hospital protocol by remaining in Navarro's room after the patient's ventilator was removed. Transplant team members are not allowed into a donor's room until the the donor is declared dead. Roozrokh is alleged to have ordered large doses of morphine and Ativan, an anti-anxiety medication. Most damaging was the accusation that he essentially poisoned Navarro by introducing a topical antiseptic named Betadine into the patient's system.
A nurse who was present claims that Roozrokh asked another nurse to get more "candy" drugs, with the apparent intention of hastening Navarro's death. Navarro died some 8 hours following the administration of the Betadine. The cause of death was ruled as 'natural causes', but given the lapse of time, Navarro's organs had deteriorated too much to be transplanted.

The case has set off alarm bells in the American medical community. It has also been a concern for donation advocacy groups who are afraid the negative publicity might frighten donors away. Roozrokh faces three felony counts relating to the treatment of Ruben Navarro as a donor. He has pleaded not guilty.

If convicted he could be facing up to 8 years in jail and a fine.