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In a handful of states, it's legal for doctors to prescribe use of marijuana for medical purposes. But patients who partake may pay a big price: transplant denials.
The Los Angeles Times details such cases this morning, including that of Timothy Garon, a 56-year-old Seattle musician who was rejected for a liver transplant in part because he'd used medical marijuana to ease symptoms of hepatitis C. He subsequently died. (See this editorial supporting Garon in the Ventura County Star.)
Another patient, a 33-year-old diabetic whose kidneys and pancreas failed, told the Times he couldn't get transplants at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle or University of Washington Medical Center because of medical marijuana.
Considering the detailed criteria for organ transplantation, and the long list of people waiting, the Health Blog can't help but wonder what issues might be at play aside from the pot use. The University of Washington alluded to other factors in a statement to the Times: "Although medical marijuana may be an issue in rare cases, it is never the sole determinant in arriving at medical decisions about candidates for organ transplants." Virginia Mason, meanwhile, said smoking of any kind could "lead to patient-safety and transplant-effectiveness issues" and was precluded, adding the transplant committee also would weigh use of medical marijuana in a pill form.
Standardized, written policies on the issue would help, some ethicists said. And a social worker at the liver transplant program at UCLA Medical Center said if medical marijuana means no transplant, that should be made clear to doctors. She told the Times that some transplant committee members see marijuana as an illegal substance and grounds for an automatic transplant denial.
Source: Medical Marijuana Users Denied Organ Transplants - Health Blog - WSJ
The Los Angeles Times details such cases this morning, including that of Timothy Garon, a 56-year-old Seattle musician who was rejected for a liver transplant in part because he'd used medical marijuana to ease symptoms of hepatitis C. He subsequently died. (See this editorial supporting Garon in the Ventura County Star.)
Another patient, a 33-year-old diabetic whose kidneys and pancreas failed, told the Times he couldn't get transplants at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle or University of Washington Medical Center because of medical marijuana.
Considering the detailed criteria for organ transplantation, and the long list of people waiting, the Health Blog can't help but wonder what issues might be at play aside from the pot use. The University of Washington alluded to other factors in a statement to the Times: "Although medical marijuana may be an issue in rare cases, it is never the sole determinant in arriving at medical decisions about candidates for organ transplants." Virginia Mason, meanwhile, said smoking of any kind could "lead to patient-safety and transplant-effectiveness issues" and was precluded, adding the transplant committee also would weigh use of medical marijuana in a pill form.
Standardized, written policies on the issue would help, some ethicists said. And a social worker at the liver transplant program at UCLA Medical Center said if medical marijuana means no transplant, that should be made clear to doctors. She told the Times that some transplant committee members see marijuana as an illegal substance and grounds for an automatic transplant denial.
Source: Medical Marijuana Users Denied Organ Transplants - Health Blog - WSJ
