Mexican Teenager Near Death After Organ Transplant Error
DURHAM, N.C. — A teenager from Mexico whose family moved to the United States so she could get a heart and lung transplant was near death Monday after mistakenly receiving organs from a donor with a different blood type.
“This was a tragic error, and we accept responsibility for our part,” William Fulkerson, chief executive of Duke University Hospital, said in a statement Monday.
Jesica Santillam, 17, suffers from a heart deformity that prevents her lungs from pumping enough oxygen into her blood. She received a transplant on Feb. 7 with a heart and lungs flown in from Boston.
Mack Mahoney, a family friend, said Jesica was expected to live only a few days.
The heart and lungs were sent with paperwork correctly listing the donor’s blood type, said Sean Fitzpatrick of the New England Organ Bank, which sent the organs.
Mahoney said Jesica’s family was told a “clerical error” at the hospital allowed her name to come up on a list of possible recipients.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
