"My involvement in it was pretty minimal," he said.
The Fresno hospital's policy does not specify how long a physician must spend examining a patient nor what tests the doctor should order. It only says that the doctor must write his findings in the patient's chart.
Williams, the ethics expert, said he sets aside 30 to 45 minutes to perform a brain-death examination or confirmation exam. Told of notes in Foster's record, he said, "If the documentation is correct, they should never ever have considered the possibility of brain death for that patient.... It's not even close."
Phyllis Weber, executive director of the California Transplant Donor Network, said the donation would not have proceeded anyway because her organ procurement staff also had concerns about whether the patient was brain-dead.
"They do a careful examination, and if there's any questions, the process gets halted then until their questions are resolved," Weber said. "The public should be really grateful that that happens."
If her staff had concerns, however, they were not reflected in the confidential case notes kept by the donor network.
She said she was sorry to hear that Sanchez felt pressured. Other family members told The Times that they did not feel coerced, although the ultimate decision was Sanchez's.
"It's certainly not ever our position to pressure families to make this decision," Weber said. "We have people who are very trained, have a great deal of experience, and we give families a lot of time."
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charles.ornstein@latimes.com
tracy.weber@latimes.com
