70 deaths, 249 hospitalizations tied to failures to properly screen, keep track of donated organs

Process failures in the collection, screening and transplantation of donated organs in the U.S. have been responsible for at least 70 deaths and the development of 249 avoidable disease, the Senate Finance Committee revealed in a report Wednesday.

The full report, which was obtained by the Washington Post, cites failures to identify diseases lying within organs that would cause issue for the next host, failures to properly match blood types and perfectly good-to-use organs being lost or discarded after mismanagement in the transport chain.

These cases include a man in South Carolina who received transplanted lungs that were incompatible with his body – killing him the next day. On heart transplant patient in Wisconsin was told they would die in three years after it was discovered the…