Letters: Who loses in transplant saga?
Re “Girl’s transplant reignites debate,” June 13
It is hard to begrudge 10-year-old Sarah Murnagh for receiving a lifesaving lung transplant. But I seriously question the wisdom of her family and friends creating a campaign that resulted in Dr. John Roberts, president of the United Network for Organ Sharing, receiving tens of thousands of e-mails. His e-mail inbox crashed after it received 48,000 messages. How many pleas from other transplant patients was Roberts unable to read because of the campaign for little Sarah?
How much time did Roberts spend dealing with this campaign that he could have devoted to other patients?
As The Times pointed out, determining priority in organ transplantation is a zero-sum game. So not only will Sarah’s gift of life ultimately result in someone else going without new lungs, but the circus created by her supporters may have impacted other potential recipients as well.
Ed Schoch
Westchester
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