KNBC.com, CA
Dec 28 2007
Funeral Held For Northridge Teen Who Needed Liver Transplant
POSTED: 7:03 am PST December 28, 2007
UPDATED: 1:58 pm PST December 28, 2007
LOS ANGELES — More than 200 people, including members of an Armenian
motorcycle club, gathered in Glendale Friday to pay final tribute to
a Northridge teen who died after her insurance company delayed
approving a liver transplant operation for her.
Nataline Sarkisyan died Dec. 20 after being pulled off life support
at UCLA Medical Center. She had been suffering from a recurrence of
leukemia, and her doctors had recommended a liver transplant.
Cigna Healthcare initially said it would not pay for the operation
because its experts determined it would not have been "effective or
appropriate."
Friends and relatives — most wearing pink ribbons, armbands or
scarves – – filed into St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church today for
Sarkisyan’s funeral.
Family members said UCLA had a liver available for transplant, but
doctors would not perform the procedure because of Cigna’s refusal to
cover it.
Her family plans to sue Cigna, and their attorney, Mark Geragos, said
he will push for criminal charges against the company, alleging the
insurer twice took Nataline off the liver transplant list and
purposely waited until she was near death to approve the transplant
because the company didn’t want to pay for the procedure and her
after-care.
The girl’s plight made headlines around the world, and a member of
the California Nurses Association said the union will try to use
Nataline’s story to shine a light on problems with the American
health care system.
Nataline was diagnosed with leukemia at age 14. After two years of
treatment the cancer went into remission but came back this summer.
When doctors said Nataline could use a bone-marrow transplant, the
Sarkisyans discovered that her brother was a match, and he donated
his bone marrow the day before Thanksgiving.
However, Nataline developed a complication from the bone-marrow
transplant and, because her liver was failing, doctors recommended a
transplant, saying she had a 65 percent chance of living for at least
six months.
Cigna initially refused to fund the procedure, but reversed itself
after its decision drew protests and negative publicity. However, by
then the girl was too sick and she died hours later.