UMTV Web Brief 10/30/02 -

Welcome to UMTV’s Web Brief. I’m Reed Galin.

Advances in medicine usually come at someone’s expense. That’s a given -- but whose? Maybe someone who simply couldn’t afford a prescription, someone with health problems that aren’t being addressed any other way. Are we allowing the most vulnerable members of society to suffer so that, in the future, the rest of us won’t? What obligation does society have to the uninsured?

IMAGINE LOSING YOUR JOB, HAVING TO TAKE ON A PAPER ROUTE AND OTHER ODD JOBS AT THE AGE OF 63. NOT ONLY DID IRENE DUARTE LOSE HER PAYCHECK, BUT ALSO HER HEALTH INSURANCE, CREATING A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. SHE HAS VERY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE.

DUARTE: "I couldn't take no pills because I couldn't afford them. I lived on pins and needles,

hoping I wouldn't have a heart attack because I wasn't taking no medication."

DUARTE BEGAN "RENTING" HERSELF TO MEDICAL SCIENCE. SHE ENROLLED IN A DRUG TRIAL FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, PLAYING A KIND OF MEDICAL ROULETTE WITH HER LIFE.

DUARTE: "I don't know what the pills are. They just give me a case and I just take them."

SHE FELT VOLUNTEERING WAS HER BEST CHANCE AT HEALTH CARE.

DR. DAVID MILLER: "These are patients that are looking for ways to get their medications covered and actually getting their overall care covered while they're in studies."

DR. DAVID MILLER IS DIRECTOR OF A CLINICAL RESEARCH SITE NEAR BOSTON. HE SAYS HIS CLINIC OFFERS CRITICAL SERVICES THAT MANY OF HIS PATIENTS WOULD NOT GET OTHERWISE.

DR. MILLER: "I think, if anything, the drug companies that are investigating these products err on

the side of doing more tests than a regular physician would do in their office."

BUT MEDICAL ETHICIST DR. DAVID STEINBERG WONDERS IF THE MULTI-BILLION- DOLLAR DRUG INDUSTRY TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE POOR AS IT PUSHES TO BRING LUCRATIVE NEW PRODUCTS TO MARKET.

DR. STEINBERG: "To the extent that they're signing up for studies they would not have signed up for if they had these medicines, I suppose you could say it's exploitation."

IRENE DUARTE LEAVES THE DEBATE UP TO OTHERS. SHE DOES WHAT SHE HAS TO JUST TO SURVIVE.

DUARTE: "I feel very good about myself since I've been on the trial drugs. I feel independent.

That's the whole thing."

Medical Emergency Commentary Intro:

There are an estimated 43 million Americans like Irene Duarte without health insurance. Addressing that crisis is a high priority for The United Methodist Church, and for the Rev. Jackson Day. He is the program director for health and wholeness at the General Board of Church and Society.

The whole matter of the health care insurance industry is a serious issue. It really goes back to whether or not health care is a right, as The United Methodist Church says it is, or whether it’s basically a commodity to be bought and sold only to those who can afford it.

The theory there goes that health care is an individual responsibility and, therefore, government involvement in it should be minimal or limited to only those people like the poor or the elderly. We assume that everyone else ought to be able to take care of their health care needs.

But nobody is able to take care of their health care needs when they are sick, and that’s when they need them. So you need to have some type of insurance system that takes resources at the time when you’re not sick and makes them available to you when you are. And we don’t have a system in place like that for over 41 million people in the United States at this time.

Here’s a man who believes if you have something you aren’t using to the fullest, you should give it away. Greg Nobles proved his commitment to that philosophy by giving one of his kidneys to a complete stranger. It’s a remarkable story that began when Greg’s wife overhead a conversation on a school outing. That chance meeting brought two strangers together and saved a man’s life.

Lifesaver Story:

DOYCE REEVES FELT HIS LIFE SLOWLY SLIPPING AWAY.

Doyce Reeves:

“Oh, I was going downhill all the time.”

POLYPS HAD SMOTHERED HIS KIDNEYS, SO THEY WERE REMOVED. DIALYSES THREE TIMES A WEEK KEPT HIM ALIVE BUT, WITHOUT A TRANSPLANT, HE FACED DEATH.

Doyce Reeves: “I knew if something wasn’t done, yes, I would.”

THEN, SUDDENLY, A COMPLETE STRANGER STEPPED FORWARD TO SAVE HIS LIFE.

“Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your presence today …”

GREG NOBLES, A UNITED METHODIST MINISTER, SAYS HIS FAITH LED HIM TO GIVE, UNCONDITIONALLY, THE GIFT OF LIFE.

Greg Nobles, United Methodist pastor: “At the time, it just seemed like another person in God’s kingdom that needed … had a need.”

A BATTERY OF TESTS CONFIRMED HIS KIDNEY WAS INDEED A GOOD MATCH; YET DOCTORS REMAINED SKEPTICAL OF GREG’S MOTIVATION.

Greg Nobles: “They wanted to make sure there was no pressure put on me to donate the kidney and there was no deal to receive money for the kidney.”

AS BOTH FAMILIES WAITED NERVOUSLY, ONE OF GREG NOBLES’ KIDNEYS WAS REMOVED AND GENTLY PLACED INSIDE A VERY SICK MAN.

Doyce Reeves: “It’s a gift of love from one person to another. It’s his gift to me that keeps me going.”

TO GREG NOBLES, THERE WAS NOTHING EXTRAORDINARY ABOUT HIS SACRIFICE. IT’S JUST ALL PART OF THE PLAN.

Greg Nobles: “God does have a plan. He has a plan for Doyce. He has a plan for me. And I think we all feel good when we give.”

It’s now more than a year since Doyce Reeves’ transplant, and that’s a very important milestone. The risk of organ rejection decreases sharply after six months. And Greg Nobles -- no complications for him, either. He’s doing fine.

On the next UMTV Web Brief, overcoming the odds.

“I’d say right now my faith is stronger than it ever has been.”

Thanks for watching. Make it a good week.