Medical Ethicist On Heart Transplant Denial For Man With Autism - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

Over the last two years, 38 percent of patients evaluated for heart transplants at the Hospital University of Pennsylvania have been rejected.

Most of the rejections are because of medical conditions that would affect their survival or quality of life after a transplant.

One rejection in particular is getting a lot of attention right now.

Paul Corby, 23, of Pottsville, has a bad heart but he also has a form of autism.

His mother released his rejection letter from Penn that mentions his autism and the unknown and unpredictable effect of steroids on behavior as a reason behind his rejection.

Corby's mother is not taking no for an answer, and Penn's decision has started a debate across the country.

For their part, Penn officials have released a statement that says in part, "When individuals are referred for transplant consideration at Penn or any other certified transplant center, all aspects of their medical status would be reviewed. This includes the current health status and post transplant prognosis of the recipient, the impact of other existing health problems on the success of the surgery itself and over the longer term, as well as the potential interaction between a patient's existing drug therapies and the drugs that would be necessary to stop transplant rejection."

Medical ethicist Art Caplan joined "Good Day" on Wednesday morning to talk about the process of transplant screening, which determines who should and should not get a transplant.