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this is bad news for hota
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Brain-dead man's kin in scuffle over op to remove organs
Relatives, hoping for miracle, wanted doctors to delay surgery for another day
GRIEF-STRICKEN relatives of a brain-dead man on Tuesday begged that his organs not be taken - and then got into a tussle with hospital staff when their request was rejected.
They were praying for a miracle, hoping that Mr Sim Tee Hua, 43, would awake from his coma. But the crane operator was declared brain dead at 6.20pm on Monday - four days after he collapsed at work last Thursday. The cause of death a stroke, or brain haemorrhage.
When doctors at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) said on Monday that they were going to remove his organs, the family requested that they wait for 24 hours - and the doctors agreed.
After that time was up, the family asked for another 24 hours, but doctors felt that a delay would make the organs unusable for transplant and went ahead with the operation.
Under the Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota) amended in July 2004, kidneys, livers, hearts and corneas suitable for transplant can be removed from all Singaporeans and permanent residents upon their death - unless they have opted out. Muslims are exempted because of religious reasons.
Mr Sim had not opted out of the programme, so his family was powerless to stop his organs from being removed. But they tried their best.
Lianhe Wanbao reported that around 20 members of Mr Sim's family intervened when his body was being wheeled into the operating theatre at about 10.15pm on Tuesday. His mother and five other relatives went down on their knees to beg doctors to delay the operation for one more day.
But when their request was denied, emotions ran high and the police were called. An aunt tried to bite a police officer in the arm. Nine police officers and about 10 hospital security staff members were involved in the three-hour confrontation before the matter was resolved peacefully and doctors performed the operation.
Mr Sim's sister, Ms Shen Qiu Xia, 45, told Lianhe Wanbao 'We were actually prepared to accept that he was dead if his condition did not get better by Wednesday night. 'Although he was brain-dead, his body was still warm and my mother said that she felt he would awake from the coma.' She added that he had no previous major illnesses and that he had planned to marry a girlfriend in her 30s from China's Hainan island.
A Health Ministry spokesman told The Straits Times yesterday 'Where possible, doctors will accommodate a family's request for a grace period as death is usually a difficult time for them. However, the transplant team will have to balance this with the need to save the lives of organ failure patients.'
Brain death is defined as a complete and irreversible cessation of brain activity. When this happens, a person can be declared dead even if the heart continues to beat due to life support measures.
The kidneys taken from Mr Sim's body were given to two patients. One, a 55-year-old man, was on the transplant waiting list for about six years. The other is a 49-year-old man who had been waiting for almost eight years. Mr Sim's corneas will be transplanted in the next few days.
Largely due to the amendments to Hota, the number of patients awaiting a kidney transplant dropped from 673 in 2003 to 605 in mid-2006. In the two years to July 2006, at least 130 people have received transplants under the revised Act.
Anyone who does not want his organs to be taken after his death can register with the Ministry of Health. The opt-out form can be obtained from all public hospitals and polyclinics or from the Organ Donor Registry at SGH.
Tracy Sua
The Straits Times
Relatives, hoping for miracle, wanted doctors to delay surgery for another day
GRIEF-STRICKEN relatives of a brain-dead man on Tuesday begged that his organs not be taken - and then got into a tussle with hospital staff when their request was rejected.
They were praying for a miracle, hoping that Mr Sim Tee Hua, 43, would awake from his coma. But the crane operator was declared brain dead at 6.20pm on Monday - four days after he collapsed at work last Thursday. The cause of death a stroke, or brain haemorrhage.
When doctors at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) said on Monday that they were going to remove his organs, the family requested that they wait for 24 hours - and the doctors agreed.
After that time was up, the family asked for another 24 hours, but doctors felt that a delay would make the organs unusable for transplant and went ahead with the operation.
Under the Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota) amended in July 2004, kidneys, livers, hearts and corneas suitable for transplant can be removed from all Singaporeans and permanent residents upon their death - unless they have opted out. Muslims are exempted because of religious reasons.
Mr Sim had not opted out of the programme, so his family was powerless to stop his organs from being removed. But they tried their best.
Lianhe Wanbao reported that around 20 members of Mr Sim's family intervened when his body was being wheeled into the operating theatre at about 10.15pm on Tuesday. His mother and five other relatives went down on their knees to beg doctors to delay the operation for one more day.
But when their request was denied, emotions ran high and the police were called. An aunt tried to bite a police officer in the arm. Nine police officers and about 10 hospital security staff members were involved in the three-hour confrontation before the matter was resolved peacefully and doctors performed the operation.
Mr Sim's sister, Ms Shen Qiu Xia, 45, told Lianhe Wanbao 'We were actually prepared to accept that he was dead if his condition did not get better by Wednesday night. 'Although he was brain-dead, his body was still warm and my mother said that she felt he would awake from the coma.' She added that he had no previous major illnesses and that he had planned to marry a girlfriend in her 30s from China's Hainan island.
A Health Ministry spokesman told The Straits Times yesterday 'Where possible, doctors will accommodate a family's request for a grace period as death is usually a difficult time for them. However, the transplant team will have to balance this with the need to save the lives of organ failure patients.'
Brain death is defined as a complete and irreversible cessation of brain activity. When this happens, a person can be declared dead even if the heart continues to beat due to life support measures.
The kidneys taken from Mr Sim's body were given to two patients. One, a 55-year-old man, was on the transplant waiting list for about six years. The other is a 49-year-old man who had been waiting for almost eight years. Mr Sim's corneas will be transplanted in the next few days.
Largely due to the amendments to Hota, the number of patients awaiting a kidney transplant dropped from 673 in 2003 to 605 in mid-2006. In the two years to July 2006, at least 130 people have received transplants under the revised Act.
Anyone who does not want his organs to be taken after his death can register with the Ministry of Health. The opt-out form can be obtained from all public hospitals and polyclinics or from the Organ Donor Registry at SGH.
Tracy Sua
The Straits Times
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