Surgeon charged with hastening death to get organs

When the accusations surfaced, they were already among the most controversial the transplant community had ever seen. The family of a deceased patient had gone public with accusations that his transplant surgeon, Dr. Hootan Roozrokh, had deliberately given him excessive doses of drugs in an effort to kill him and get his organs more quickly.

Now, the matter has gone from the newspapers to the courts. In what observers say is an unprecedented case, Dr. Roozrokh is now facing three felony counts on charges related to his treatment of the patient, 25-year-old Ruben Navarro, despite the fact that the coroner ruled that his death came from natural causes. Not only is Dr. Roozrokh accused of giving Navarro excessive amounts of morphine and Ativan, the plaintiffs also say Dr. Roozrokh dosing him with topical antiseptic Betadine. If the transplant surgeon was convicted of the pending charges, he could face eight years in jail.

To learn about this controversial case:
- read this piece from The New York Times

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