Modern day Discrimination:

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/huntingdon/2006/05/17/6192e8b8-afbb-44de-9b3e-bfcd80ba2cfd.lpf

Visitor in battle for transplant dies at 29

A HEART patient from Nigeria who battled to win the right to a heart transplant at Papworth hospital has died.

Ese Elizabeth Alabi was admitted to the hospital in March after becoming critically ill following heart failure, but doctors ruled she was not a priority patient as her visa had expired.

Ms Alabi took her battle for the operation to the High Court where her lawyers argued she was the victim of an "unjustifiable and disproportionate" Government policy to deter "health tourism".

But time ran out for the 29- year-old, who is believed to have fallen ill after giving birth to twin boys, and she died at Papworth Hospital on Sunday.

An inquest into her death was opened and adjourned by Cambridgeshire coroner David Morris yesterday (Tuesday, 16 May).

During the legal battle to get Ms Alabi treatment, lawyers revealed Papworth doctors considered her to be "clinically appropriate" for a transplant, but could not put her on the "urgent" list because of Government regulations about the treatment of non-EU nationals.

Lawyers for the 29-year-old, of Florence Close, in Grays, Essex, battled for a judicial review of Papworth's decision, and challenged the NHS Blood and Transport Special Health Authority's decision not to allocate her a new heart because of her status in the country.

They also argued the Health Secretary's directions in 2005 were unlawful because they discriminated unfairly between patients on the grounds of their nationality and country of residence.

The legal battle stalled when a High Court judge adjourned the case after it was revealed her visitor's visa, which she had used to enter the UK last year, ran out in March.

Her consultant said at the time it would have been "irresponsible" to carry out a transplant if she had to return to Nigeria because essential monitoring and aftercare would not be available.

At the time of the court hearing there were three names on the "urgent list" for transplant operations to which Ms Alabi wanted her name added - two men from Birmingham and a 15-year-old boy from Newcastle.

It's a pity she had to die. I don't see any discrimination in it all. From what I gathered, she was placed on a waiting list. Is it every day you get people ready to donate organs? When some Britons who are covered by the NHS have been on the waiting list for a while, nobody is gonna give her priority. I guess they should have flown her by to Nigeria. Lots of transplants are carried out in naija.

no be from Naija she carry plane go U.K.

where are the "lots of transplants done in Naija"

kimba:

no be from Naija she carry plane go U.K.

where are the "lots of transplants done in Naija"

I know someone who had one in LUTH (lagos university teaching hospital). siamese twins have been successfuly separated in OAUTH, Ife. A lot of feats have also been accomplished in other teaching hospitals here. For your information, she did not go to the UK to have a heart transplant! It was in the course of an ilness that the doctors detected the heart problem.

@kimba
We have many hospitals in which these transplant would have been done may be she was ignorant you get.

@rotwel
As from you it wasnt her time if it wasnt racism i done see anything that will not make them treat her. Even if her visa expired in march she deserves care and not discrimination. But in naija here we treat them like kings and queens even if their papers has expired it all goes down to say we have no government and also have no say in the international world.

from what I heard, she was the only one on her own list. A special list was created for her.