Grand Rapids-Based Hospital Suggests A Woman Raise Money For Her Own For Heart Transplant
GRAND RAPIDS (AP) — A Grand Rapids-based hospital system has denied a heart transplant to a 60-year-old woman because of funding concerns, recommending instead that she fundraise $10,000 for the procedure on her own.
The Detroit Free Press reports that Spectrum Health's Heart & Lung Specialized Care Clinics informed Hedda Martin in a Nov. 20 letter that she isn't eligible for the transplant because she doesn't have secure financing for drugs needed to keep her body from rejecting the new organ.
Martin posted the letter to her Facebook page the next day. Martin tells MLive.com that she believes Spectrum administrators could've handled the situation better.
Spectrum Health says it has a duty to make sure donor organs "remain viable" and that costs are a factor in the decision-making process.
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