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since Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:04:17.
By my conservative calculations at least 20% of the funding of the Israel Lobby comes from price gouging in the medical industry.
Of course, non-Jewish doctors and non-Jewish-owned medical corporations are just as willing to price-gouge as Jewish medical personnel and Jewish-owned medical corporations, but the Lobby is keenly aware of the sources of its revenue.
Rupert Murdoch should at least be agnostic on the issue because a US national health care program would almost certainly lower his employee costs.
Yet FOX (Rupert Murdoch) media pundits are leading the charge against national health care because Murdoch knows who butters his bread. In the late 80s and early 90s when he needed investment and loans to expand, Zionist political economic oligarchs provided the money.
There had to be at least an implicit understanding. Not only was Murdoch's earlier stance relative to ME issues much more cautious and less pro-Israel, but the conservative economics Murdoch publications used to espouse hardly came close to their current doctrinaire Friedmanism amounting to
- a generalized application of Zionist looting to all non-Jews in combination with
- the "squeeze the peasants" approach used by Jewish estate managers
To cure the potential fatal illnesses assaulting American democracy in the finance and medical industries, Americans must purge the Zionist-Friedmanite-Neocon virus that has spread throughout the body politic: Saving America in 100 Words.
Only then will it possible to undo Friedmanite damage to restore the public utility sector to which banking and medical care must be added: "...banks should remain in private hands".
NHS Surgeons saved 15 lives in a record-breaking transplant op. using just 2 donors!
By Jenny Hope and Chris Brooke
15th August 2009
Surgeons are celebrating a European first with five lifesaving transplant operations from two donors in 24 hours.
In a stunning display of teamwork, NHS doctors and nurses gave hope to three seriously-ill children, including an eight-month-old baby, and two adults given less than two years to live.
Other organs were sent elsewhere in the UK to assist terminally ill patients. Altogether 15 people received the gift of life as a result of the marathon effort at two Birmingham hospitals.
From left, surgeon Paolo Muiesan, Sandie Lee Smith, Sean O'Brien, Professor Christophe Chardot, surgeon Darius Mirza, Angelica Marsh with daughter Lubaya, and surgeon Khalid Sharif
The operations included transplants of multiple abdominal organs into two patients - the first time this has happened in a day in Europe. Doctors also performed a 'domino' transplant, in which a live patient donates an organ after receiving a donor replacement, which had never before been attempted with the type of liver used.
Details of the transplants - all carried out on NHS patients - emerged as politicians on both sides of the Atlantic were embroiled in a highlevel row over the Health Service.
Tory leader David Cameron was forced to defend his party after an extraordinary attack on the NHS by his own MEP Daniel Hannan, who went on prime-time U.S. television to dismiss it as a '60-year failure' that he 'wouldn't wish on anybody'.
The medical teams in Birmingham were quietly confident that actions speak louder than words as they unveiled their remarkable results.
Transplant surgeon Darius Mirza, who led one of the teams involved both in retrieving organs from the two donors and the transplant surgery, said it was a team effort at Birmingham Children's Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, involving up to 55 doctors, nurses and support staff.
Not only did local patients benefit, but at least ten other organs were sent all over the UK to help NHS patients, he said.
'It is an NHS success story and perhaps we don't give it the recognition it deserves because none of these patients would have survived two years without a transplant.'
Humbled: Mother-of-two Sandie Lee Smith (left) gave her diseased liver to terminally ill cancer sufferer Sean O'Brien (right) as she was given a new organ from a donor in a domino transplant
The marathon operation two months ago has transformed the lives of the two adults and three children who received organs.
In the stunning sequence of operations, the liver, bowels and pancreas from one donor were transplanted into a teenage boy. The stomach, bowels and pancreas from a separate donor were given to another young boy.
Half of the liver from this same donor went to a tiny baby girl, while the other half was given to a 30-year-old woman. Uniquely, the liver is able to regenerate itself after transplant.
In a unique 'domino' transplant, this woman's own liver was then transplanted into the body of an adult man, who was not allowed to a healthy organ.
The youngest recipient was eight-month-old baby Lubaya Turpin, who received half of a liver from one of thev anonymous donors.
She was born with a rare liver condition and underwent an unsuccessful operation at nine weeks. Her father Dwayne Turpin, 23, and mother Angelica Marsh, 22, from Birmingham, are delighted with the transformation.
Mr Turpin said: 'She's been like a different baby. We noticed improvements in just a couple of days. Her eyes used to be yellow and now they have cleared up. She has a lot more energy. She's been a very lucky baby.'
The other half of the liver went to Sandie Lee Smith, 30, who had endured a miserable six years since being laid low with the rare genetic condition Acute Intermittent Porphyria (AIP), which regularly left her in agony.
Sufferers do not produce enough enzymes to break down dangerous toxins in the body. This can lead to damage to the liver and regular 'attacks' involving abdominal pain and nausea.
Mrs Smith, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, said: 'The attacks meant I was going to hospital every month and then towards the end I was in hospital every week. I was in acute pain.'
The treatment she has received for four years was not effective and Mrs Smith, who works for a packaging firm, was put on the transplant list as a 'last resort' in December.
Six months later she received the other half of the donor liver - it will regenerate to full size over time - and is now looking forward to going on holiday and playing with her children Jamie, 11, and Tamzin, eight.
Mrs Smith said: 'I'm feeling loads better and have so much more energy than before. I can do things with my children, like take them away for a week somewhere, that I could never do before the transplant.'
As a bonus her liver, which she thought would be good enough only for medical research, was given to Sean O'Brien, 43, whose terminal condition made him ineligible for a completely healthy liver.
'I didn't think it would be possible to donate my liver to someone else, but I've managed to give Sean a better quality of life which is great,' she said. 'It was very strange meeting him because he has a part of me inside him.'
The unique feature of the domino operation is that it is the first time in the world that this type of liver - affected by porphyria - has been transplanted in such a way.
Naturally Mr O'Brien, who lives about 60miles away in Taunton, Somerset, is forever grateful. Although he spotted her on the hospital ward while they were recovering from surgery, they did not meet until this week.
Describing the emotional moment at Birmingham Children's Hospital, he said: 'Sometimes words aren't enough. I hugged her. I feel incredibly grateful, incredibly happy and incredibly humble.
'Everything is better for me now, my life is as good as I ever remember it being. Before I had the transplant I struggled to get out of bed or decide if I wanted tea or coffee. Everything became more and more difficult.'
Mr O'Brien collapsed in the gym four years ago. Tests identified a cancerous tumour the size of a grapefruit and 60 per cent of his liver was removed. In November 2007 a regular scan picked up another growth more than 9cm in diameter. Surgeons said it was too big to operate and Mr O'Brien was given drug treatment with debilitating side effects to keep the tumour at bay.
He was told the shortage of donor organs meant a transplant was not an option for a patient like him, at high risk of failing to survive, and he was forced to live under a death sentence. However, Mrs Smith's damaged liver gave him the chance to benefit from a 'domino' transplant.
Even though he risked developing AIP, his cancer would be cured. 'There was a high risk of rejection, but I had no alternative,' he said. 'I would have died.'
He was prepared for surgery in the room next to Mrs Smith and followed her into the operating theatre to receive her liver. 'After the surgery my wife said she'd never seen such a big smile from someone on a ventilator and I've been smiling ever since,' he said.
Because AIP mainly affects pre-menopausal women, doctors did not expect Mr O'Brien to suffer in the same way Mrs Smith did. However, a few weeks ago he suffered a painful AIP attack. He returned to hospital and drug treatment has prevented a repeat of the problem.
Mr O'Brien is married to Sam, 43, and they have a daughter Megan, 11. The couple own a spa and health care business and he hopes to be able to return to work soon.
The same donor also gave stomach, bowels and pancreas to an 11-year-old boy, who does not want to be named.
Mr Mirza said the transplants all took place over 24 hours in June, while other organs including four lungs, two hearts and four kidneys were sent to other patients on the waiting list.
He said the UK's record on donating organs for use after death could be better.
'We need people to be aware of how we can transform the lives of others. Only one in four of us is signed up to the NHS donor register. There is a lack of education and the system could work better across the board - there are many factors involved.'
Altogether 327 people have donated organs and 931 patients have received transplants since April, while 8,046 are still waiting. More than 1,000 people a year die on the waiting list. At least 150 people are waiting for a new liver at any time but they are all patients for whom time is running out.
The liver performs 100 complex functions, fighting off infection, making essential chemicals and filtering out poisons.
But when it goes into acute failure or is seriously damaged by cirrhosis, viral infection or even a paracetamol overdose there are no 'liver machines' to keep patients going.
The shortage of donor livers - like all organs - means surgeons have to make the most of what they have.
Uniquely, the liver consists of two lobes and can be split, with each lobe being transplanted into different recipients.
This is possible because the liver is the only organ that regenerates and will grow to almost full size over time, around eight years on average.
It is particularly useful in the case of child recipients, who can have a 'cut- down' liver which will then grow with the child.
Last year 636 liver transplants were carried out, more than 100 of which were split liver transplants.
How 55 staff worked together as one
IN total around 55 medical staff and support workers were involved in the multiple transplant operation with some surgeons and doctors taking part in up to four operations.
Consultant transplant surgeon Mr Paolo Muiesan led a team of doctors, anaesthetists and nurses during a six-hour operation to secure the organs from the first donor. These included the stomach, pancreas and intestine and two kidneys.
In addition a separate thoracic surgical team removed two lungs and a heart.
The liver was divided in half in the donor and then, like the other organs, individually packaged for transportation to the Children's Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Consultant transplant surgeon Mr Darius Mirza led the team performing the transplant for an 11-year-old boy, using organs from the first donor. The six-hour operation involved the transfer of a stomach, pancreas and intestine.
Consultant transplant surgeon Mr Khalid Sharif led the transplant team giving a left half of the new liver to eight-month-old Lubaya Turpin. At the same time, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, consultant transplant surgeon Mr Simon Bramhall led the team giving the right half of the new liver to 30-year-old Sandie Lee Smith.
He then led the team performing the 'domino' procedure in which Sandie's liver was transferred to Sean O'Brien at the same hospital.
Simultaneously, Mr Mirza also led the team who retrieved the organs from the second donor, and carried out the transplant operation on 14-year-old Damien Simpson using those organs, the last of the five transplant operations on the day.
Each surgical team would consist of ten to 12 people.
At least four surgeons were needed for the retrieval operations, plus an anaesthetist, two technicians, two nurses, two coordinators and one theatre assistant.
The transplant teams consisted of at least one or two transplant surgeons, plus two assistant surgeons, an anaesthetist, two technicians, one nurse, one coordinator and one theatre assistant.
There was some overlap between the different surgical teams.
===
An extraordinary report from Guy Adams in Los Angeles at the music arena that has been turned into a makeshift medical centre
The brutal truth about America's healthcare
Guy Adams
Saturday, 15 August 2009
The LA Forum in Inglewood, California, hosted dental and medical examinations, for thousands of people thanks to the charity Remote Area Medical. Some waited, above, for 36 hours to see the medical staff
They came in their thousands, queuing through the night to secure one of the coveted wristbands offering entry into a strange parallel universe where medical care is a free and basic right and not an expensive luxury. Some of these Americans had walked miles simply to have their blood pressure checked, some had slept in their cars in the hope of getting an eye-test or a mammogram, others had brought their children for immunisations that could end up saving their life.
In the week that Britain's National Health Service was held aloft by Republicans as an "evil and Orwellian" example of everything that is wrong with free healthcare, these extraordinary scenes in Inglewood, California yesterday provided a sobering reminder of exactly why President Barack Obama is trying to reform the US system.
The LA Forum, the arena that once hosted sell-out Madonna concerts, has been transformed – for eight days only – into a vast field hospital. In America, the offer of free healthcare is so rare, that news of the magical medical kingdom spread rapidly and long lines of prospective patients snaked around the venue for the chance of getting everyday treatments that many British people take for granted.
In the first two days, more than 1,500 men, women and children received free treatments worth $503,000 (£304,000). Thirty dentists pulled 471 teeth; 320 people were given standard issue spectacles; 80 had mammograms; dozens more had acupuncture, or saw kidney specialists. By the time the makeshift medical centre leaves town on Tuesday, staff expect to have dispensed $2m worth of treatments to 10,000 patients.
The gritty district of Inglewood lies just a few miles from the palm-lined streets of Beverly Hills and the bright lights of Hollywood, but is a world away. And the residents who had flocked for the free medical care, courtesy of mobile charity Remote Area Medical, bore testament to the human cost of the healthcare mess that President Obama is attempting to fix.
Christine Smith arrived at 3am in the hope of seeing a dentist for the first time since she turned 18. That was almost eight years ago. Her need is obvious and pressing: 17 of her teeth are rotten; some have large visible holes in them. She is living in constant pain and has been unable to eat solid food for several years.
"I had a gastric bypass in 2002, but it went wrong, and stomach acid began rotting my teeth. I've had several jobs since, but none with medical insurance, so I've not been able to see a dentist to get it fixed," she told The Independent. "I've not been able to chew food for as long as I can remember. I've been living on soup, and noodles, and blending meals in a food mixer. I'm in constant pain. Normally, it would cost $5,000 to fix it. So if I have to wait a week to get treated for free, I'll do it. This will change my life."
Along the hall, Liz Cruise was one of scores of people waiting for a free eye exam. She works for a major supermarket chain but can't afford the $200 a month that would be deducted from her salary for insurance. "It's a simple choice: pay my rent, or pay my healthcare. What am I supposed to do?" she asked. "I'm one of the working poor: people who do work but can't afford healthcare and are ineligible for any free healthcare or assistance. I can't remember the last time I saw a doctor."
Although the Americans spend more on medicine than any nation on earth, there are an estimated 50 million with no health insurance at all. Many of those who have jobs can't afford coverage, and even those with standard policies often find it doesn't cover commonplace procedures. California's unemployed – who rely on Medicaid – had their dental care axed last month.
Julie Shay was one of the many, waiting to slide into a dentist's chair where teeth were being drilled in full view of passers-by. For years, she has been crossing over the Mexican border to get her teeth done on the cheap in Tijuana. But recently, the US started requiring citizens returning home from Mexico to produce a passport (previously all you needed was a driver's license), and so that route is now closed. Today she has two abscesses and is in so much pain she can barely sleep. "I don't have a passport, and I can't afford one. So my husband and I slept in the car to make sure we got seen by a dentist. It sounds pathetic, but I really am that desperate."
"You'd think, with the money in this country, that we'd be able to look after people's health properly," she said. "But the truth is that the rich, and the insurance firms, just don't realise what we are going through, or simply don't care. Look around this room and tell me that America's healthcare don't need fixing."
President Obama's healthcare plans had been a central plank of his first-term programme, but his reform package has taken a battering at the hands of Republican opponents in recent weeks. As the Democrats have failed to coalesce around a single, straightforward proposal, their rivals have seized on public hesitancy over "socialised medicine" and now the chance of far-reaching reform is in doubt.
Most damaging of all has been the tide of vociferous right-wing opponents whipping up scepticism at town hall meetings that were supposed to soothe doubts. In Pennsylvania this week, Senator Arlen Specter was greeted by a crowd of 1,000 at a venue designed to accommodate only 250, and of the 30 selected speakers at the event, almost all were hostile.
The packed bleachers in the LA Forum tell a different story. The mobile clinic has been organised by the remarkable Remote Area Medical. The charity usually focuses on the rural poor, although they worked in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Now they are moving into more urban venues, this week's event in Los Angeles is believed to be the largest free healthcare operation in the country.
Doctors, dentists and therapists volunteer their time, and resources to the organisation. To many US medical professionals, it offers a rare opportunity to plug into the public service ethos on which their trade was supposedly founded. "People come here who haven't seen a doctor for years. And we're able to say 'Hey, you have this, you have this, you have this'," said Dr Vincent Anthony, a kidney specialist volunteering five days of his team's time. "It's hard work, but incredibly rewarding. Healthcare needs reform, obviously. There are so many people falling through the cracks, who don't get care. That's why so many are here."
Ironically, given this week's transatlantic spat over the NHS, Remote Area Medical was founded by an Englishman: Stan Brock. The 72-year-old former public schoolboy, Taekwondo black belt, and one-time presenter of Wild Kingdom, one of America's most popular animal TV shows, left the celebrity gravy train in 1985 to, as he puts it, "make people better".
Today, Brock has no money, no income, and no bank account. He spends 365 days a year at the charity events, sleeping on a small rolled-up mat on the floor and living on a diet made up entirely of porridge and fresh fruit. In some quarters, he has been described, without too much exaggeration, as a living saint.
Though anxious not to interfere in the potent healthcare debate, Mr Brock said yesterday that he, and many other professionals, believes the NHS should provide a benchmark for the future of US healthcare.
"Back in 1944, the UK government knew there was a serious problem with lack of health care for 49.7 million British citizens, of which I was one, so they said 'Hey Mr Nye Bevan, you're the Minister for Health... go fix it'. And so came the NHS. Well, fast forward now 66 years, and we've got about the same number of people, about 49 million people, here in the US, who don't have access to healthcare."
"I've been very conservative in my outlook for the whole of my life. I've been described as being about 90,000 miles to the right of Attila the Hun. But I think one reaches the reality that something doesn't work... In this country something has to be done. And as a proud member of the US community but a loyal British subject to the core, I would say that if Britain could fix it in 1944, surely we could fix it here in America.
Healthcare compared
Health spending as a share of GDP
US 16%
UK 8.4%
Public spending on healthcare (% of total spending on healthcare)
US 45%
UK 82%
Health spending per head
US $7,290
UK $2,992
Practising physicians (per 1,000 people)
US 2.4
UK 2.5
Nurses (per 1,000 people)
US 10.6
UK 10.0
Acute care hospital beds (per 1,000 people)
US 2.7
UK 2.6
Life expectancy:
US 78
UK 80
Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births)
US 6.7
UK 4.8
Source: WHO/OECD Health Data 2009
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