The Saudis are buying everything these days — from new organs to Fox News. “Saudi received organ ahead of others in L.A.? Hospital suspends transplants, probes allegation of false records,” from WND, with thanks to Kemaste:
One of the top organ transplant hospitals in California has suspended its liver program following allegations a Saudi national improperly received an organ ahead of dozens of other needy American patients.
The Los Angeles Times reports that officials at St. Vincent Medical Center also discovered that, following the transplant, some hospital staff allegedly falsified records of the operation on numerous occasions, ostensibly to shield the process from scrutiny or discovery.
The September 2003 transplant was paid for by the Royal Saudi Embassy, the paper said. The hospital’s $339,000 fee covered the cost of the operation and the patient’s resultant hospital stay.
That figure, the Times said, was 25-30 percent higher than the customary rates paid by insurance companies and government health care programs. However, the paper also noted patients without insurance — such as many foreign nationals — typically pay a higher rate than the discounted prices negotiated by insurance companies.
The Saudi national, who was not identified, was No. 52 on the regional waiting list, which covered much of southern California. The liver should have gone instead to a patient at UCLA Medical Center.