Ten-year-old Sarah Murnaghan is waiting for a lung transplant in a Philadelphia children’s hospital, where she’s dying from cystic fibrosis. Sarah needs a lung transplant to survive, but a little-known federal policy known as OPTN is standing in her way.
Could Judge Order Transplant for Sarah Murnaghan?
The young patient has been in the hospital since February,
where doctors say she will die if she doesn’t receive the organ transplant. However, the OPTN policy discriminates against children under the age of 12, meaning that Sarah would probably have received the lung if she was just two years older.
Janet Murnaghan, Sarah’s mom, spoke to Peter Johnson, Jr. last night, telling him that unless her daughter gets the lung, she’ll be forced to go on a heart-lung machine where the blood will be pumped outside of her body to keep her alive. Murnaghan says the ‘sickest person’ should qualify as making someone the priority to receive an organ.
“There are very few opportunities we get to help people in our lives. I think we need to speak out for Sarah Murnaghan today,” Johnson said. “Let’s look at the policy, to help all of the children. … [This policy is] wrong; it’s wrong-headed; it’s immoral; it’s impractical…”
Let us pray!
