Mount Sinai Gets OK to Resume Living-Donor Liver Transplants

More than a year after its adult-to-adult living-donor liver transplant program was shut down following the death of a donor, Mount Sinai Hospital in New York has received state authorization to resume the transplants.

State Health Commissioner Antonia C. Novello, in a letter allowing the program to resume, said a recent survey "found Mount Sinai in substantial compliance with the provisions of the state hospital code. We have also satisfactorily resolved all pending legal enforcement actions against the hospital."

The program had been suspended since the January 2002 death of liver donor Michael Hurewitz, 57 (see earlier Transplant Week story). A state investigation of Mount Sinai's care of Hurewitz led to $126,000 in fines and the hospital also agreed to a variety of changes to improve post-operative care.

Among other things, the hospital agreed to have one nurse for every four patients in the liver-transplant unit instead of the previous one nurse for six or seven patients, and to eliminate the use of first-year residents in the liver transplant wards.

Mount Sinai has performed more than 2,300 liver transplants since 1988, including 179 have involved live donors. During the suspension, the hospital had not been barred from performing living donor liver transplants for pediatric patients, a procedure regarded as less risky.

Hospital officials told the New York Times the suspension of the adult-to-adult living donor transplant program had cost the hospital roughly $10 million in revenues and $500,000 to $1 million in profits.

Other Sources: New York State Health Deopartment, New York Times