PROFESSIONMan who got transplant after ads diesHis solicitation raised ethical questions, but some say it also raised organ donation awareness.By Andis Robeznieks, amednews staff. May 16, 2005. Most marketing executives can only dream of creating an ad campaign as simple and successful as the one a Houston photographer seeking a liver developed last year. With a couple of billboards and a Web site, cancer patient Todd Krampitz took his quest around the world. A few weeks and several media appearances later, he received a liver. Krampitz had a liver transplant in August 2004. On April 20, 32-year-old Krampitz died. His family has not said publicly if liver cancer played a role in his death. Medical ethicists and transplant officials say they will need time to assess what impact his story will have on public solicitations for organs specifically, and on organ donation in general. "To see a young person die early, it's tragic no matter how you slice it," Mark D. Fox, MD, PhD, chair of the United Network for Organ Sharing's Ethics Committee said. "If it was from liver cancer, that ought to give us pause about how things unfolded." Krampitz's efforts were an inspiration to others in need of transplants, and public solicitations are increasingly common on the Internet. A site called MatchingDonors.com contains 151 ads for patients seeking a donated kidney, liver, lung or pancreas. Another site, "Links for Life," is a jumping-off point to Web pages for 24 people seeking organs. Those in medicine, though, are concerned that solicitation for directed donations to individuals bypasses the UNOS organ allocation system and waiting list. It has led to accusations that Krampitz and his imitators "cut in line." [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2005 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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