PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oregon Heath & Science University has terminated a policy that had prevented an undocumented mother of four from being considered for a liver transplant.
On Monday, Silvia Lesama-Santos, 46, received a letter from OHSU denying her care because of her undocumented status.
Lesama-Santos, a stay-at-home mother of four children, has lived in the Portland area for 30 years.
"My mother's only chance at survival is to receive a liver transplant, but OHSU has denied her because she is undocumented," said her son, Ivan Gonzalez Lesama, earlier Tuesday. "They won't even let her get on the waiting list while we look for another hospital who will help her."
Mat dos Santos, legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon (ACLU of Oregon), helped the family organize a Tuesday evening press conference that pressured the hospital to change its policy.
He said he believed that medical institutions have an ethical obligation to treat people fairly.
The hospital said in a statement late Tuesday night:
It was brought to our attention this evening that an archaic transplant policy was preventing an undocumented individual from being evaluated at OHSU. Upon learning of the policy, OHSU leaders acted immediately and terminated the policy. We deeply regret the pain this has caused the family.
OHSU is committed to serving our entire community -- all are welcome at OHSU, and this policy does not reflect our values.
The OHSU transplant team is informing the family of our change in policy tonight. OHSU’s legal team has begun a system-wide audit to ensure no other such policies exist.
© 2018 KGW
from Health - Google News http://ift.tt/2GW6D0W
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