Following reports in the media that a Southern California hospital had suspended its liver transplant program and had turned down scores of donor organs while 32 patients awaiting transplants had died, the facility has had it's certification of the liver transplant program revoked.
The University of California at Irvine Medical Center in Orange, south of Los Angeles, issued a statement late on Thursday saying the U.S. government had revoked its certification of the liver transplant program, denying further Medicare reimbursements for such operations.
UCI Medical Center Chief Executive Dr. Ralph Cygan says they are profoundly disappointed by the action, as prior to the announcement, the university had committed tremendous time and resources to strengthen the program.
It appears that the 106 patients now on UCI's liver transplant waiting list will be transferred to other hospitals.
The loss of accreditation and suspension of the program came shortly after an article was published in the media listing numerous deficiencies found by federal inspectors in a report obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
According to the report by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 32 people died waiting for liver transplants at UCI in the past two years while it turned down scores of donated organs that might have saved them.
The federal report apparently also found UCI had performed just five liver transplants this year and no more than eight a year from 2002 through 2004, well below the minimum number of 12 required to maintain federal funding.