CHICAGO, July 11 (UPI) -- A Chicago recipient of a pancreas donation says she is suing those who performed her transplant because the pancreas was cancerous and caused her to get cancer.
Rashia Wimley filed a lawsuit against the doctor who performed the transplant, the University of Chicago and the Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network for allegedly acting carelessly and negligently after she received a cancerous pancreas in the summer of 2008, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
"The chance of developing cancer after a transplant is very small, and the benefits of organ transplantation to the recipient, who typically has a life-threatening disease or condition, far outweigh such risk," said Dr. Michael Millis, director of the University of Chicago Medicine's Transplant Center.
Alison Smith, Gift of Hope vice president of operations, said organs go through many tests to check for diseases or cancer.
A 2002 study indicated 21 out of more than 108,000 organ transplants cause cancer in recipients during a seven-year period.
