Organ donors fear doctors want them dead

You've heard the jokes before. Potential organ donors worry that doctors won't try as hard to save their lives once they find out the potential donors have agreed to give up their organs.

Since there are some 97,000 people currently awaiting a transplant nationally - any dip in the donation rate would have grave consequences. However, a criminal case in California could lead to exactly the kind of bad press the organ transplant community fears.

On Monday, prosecutors in California's San Luis Obispo County charged 33-year-old Hootan Roozrokh, a rising transplant surgeon, with prescribing massive amounts of drugs in an attempt to hasten the death of 25-year-old Ruben Navarro, who was physically and mentally disabled.

Kevin Chaffin, an attorney for Navarro's mother, Rosa, told Alicia Chang at the Associated Press the case chalked up to “predatory harvesting practices.”

Attempts to recover the organs were abandoned because Navarro did not die within the 30 minutes after being taken off life support when his organs would be suitable for transplantation. He was returned to the intensive care unit where he died the next day.

Roozrokh was charged with three felony counts and faces up to eight years in state prison if convicted. Roozrokh planned to surrender this week and post $10,000 bail.

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