Foreign-born Ohio transplant surgeon denied work visa

A hospital has been forced to suspend its 36-year-old kidney transplant program, leaving patients 40 miles from the nearest alternative.

By Myrle Croasdale, AMNews staff. Dec. 15, 2003.

Tanmay Lal, MD, a licensed transplant surgeon, can live here but he can't work here.

Dr. Lal, originally from India, is one of a handful of foreign-born transplant surgeons in the United States who have been denied work visas. So far no transplant programs have had to close permanently as a result, but Dr. Lal's employer in Akron, Ohio, was forced to suspend kidney transplants in July.

However, Summa Health System, which runs Akron City Hospital, is hoping to find a way to save its 36-year-old kidney transplant program.

"It's been hard on our patients, particularly ones who have the least resources," said John Jacobs, MD, nephrologist and medical director of Akron City Hospital's dialysis and transplant program.

Ninety-six patients have chosen to stay on the hospital's waiting list though it's been inactive since July. The closest alternative is 40 miles north in Cleveland.

"Those who can travel to Cleveland or Pittsburgh or Columbus have been able to do so," Dr. Jacobs said. "Our disadvantaged patients don't have the ability to go to other cities to get worked up."

Ironically, Dr. Lal's arrival was expected to solve a dilemma, not create one. Akron's kidney specialists had decided they would have to find a full-time transplant surgeon or shut down the program. Relying on part-time surgeons from Cleveland meant patients weren't always getting timely care.

Finding a good fit was difficult because the program was small (30 transplants a year), so there wouldn't be a second surgeon to share call.