Death a Result of Insufficient Care

Poor staffing was the reason cited for the death of Mike Hurewitz, the living liver donor at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, who died after a portion of his liver was transplanted into his brother. According to a Reuters Health article, The State Department of Health report determined that poor postoperative follow-up care may have been a contributing factor that led to Hurewitz’s death. The report states that only one first-year medical resident was left in charge of 34 transplant patients, the transplant surgeon failed to check up on Hurewitz after the transplant, and, due to a shortage of nurses, Hurewitz’s vital signs were not recorded “as frequently as necessary.”

In response to this incident, Dr. Antonia Novello, commissioner of health for the State of New York, suspended the hospital’s live adult liver Alternative Treatments program for six months and plans to impose a $48,000 fine — the largest allowed under state regulations.

The death of Hurewitz was the first and only death at Mount Sinai of a living liver donor since they began the program in 1988. A detailed review and analysis of the adult and pediatric liver transplant program will be implemented by an outside consultant

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