A Death Retold

In February 2003 an undocumented immigrant teen from Mexico lay dying in a prominent American hospital due to a stunning medical oversight — she had received a heart-lung transplantation of the wrong blood type. In the following weeks Jesica Santillan’s tragedy became a portal into the complexities of American medicine prompting contentious debate about new patterns and old problems in immigration the hidden epidemic of medical error the lines separating transplant “haves” from “have-nots” the right to sue and the challenges posed by “foreigners” crossing borders for medical care.<br/><br/>This volume draws together experts in history sociology medical ethics communication and immigration studies transplant surgery anthropology and health law to understand the dramatic events the major players and the core issues at stake. Contributors view the Santillan story as a morality tale: about the conflicting values underpinning American health care; about the politics of transplant medicine; about how a nation debates deservedness justice and second chances; and about the global dilemmas of medical tourism and citizenship.<br/><br/>Contributors:<br/>Charles Bosk University of Pennsylvania<br/>Leo R. Chavez University of California Irvine<br/>Richard Cook University of Chicago<br/>Thomas Diflo New York University Medical Center<br/>Jason Eberl Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis<br/>Jed Adam Gross Yale University<br/>Jacklyn Habib American Association of Retired Persons<br/>Tyler R. Harrison Purdue University<br/>Beatrix Hoffman Northern Illinois University<br/>Nancy M. P. King University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill<br/>Barron Lerner Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health<br/>Susan E. Lederer Yale University<br/>Julie Livingston Rutgers University<br/>Eric M. Meslin Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis<br/>Susan E. Morgan Purdue University<br/>Nancy Scheper-Hughes University of California Berkeley<br/>Rosamond Rhodes Mount Sinai School of Medicine and The Graduate Center City University of New York<br/>Carolyn Rouse Princeton University<br/>Karen Salmon New England School of Law<br/>Lesley Sharp Barnard and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health<br/>Lisa Volk Chewning Rutgers University<br/>Keith Wailoo Rutgers University