Allen Holliman
Allen Holliman (died November 2018) was a South Carolina resident who passed away following a botched lung transplant at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston. The transplant, performed on November 28, 2018, involved organs from a donor whose blood type was incorrectly identified, leading to organ rejection and Holliman's death.
The case drew comparisons to the high-profile 2003 death of Jesica Santillan at Duke University Hospital, where a similar blood type mismatch occurred. Holliman's death, however, received less public attention until his widow, Michelle Holliman, filed a lawsuit against several entities involved in the transplant process.
MUSC accepted the lungs for Holliman, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville accepted the donor’s liver for another patient. Both transplants failed on the same day due to the blood type mismatch. Holliman’s body rejected the lungs, and he died shortly after the procedure. The liver recipient in Tennessee survived but required a second transplant and faced serious complications.<ref name=":0" />
Dr. Bryan Whitson, a transplant surgeon at Ohio State University, described the error as one that “should never happen,” highlighting a systemic failure in the organ-matching process. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services later cited We Are Sharing Hope SC for lacking protocols for handling inconclusive blood tests and failing to report the error at Vanderbilt.<ref name=":0" />
Aftermath
Michelle Holliman filed a lawsuit in July 2020 against We Are Sharing Hope SC, later adding MUSC, UNOS, and a surgeon involved in the procedure as defendants. The lawsuit alleges negligence in the blood-typing process and failure to follow standard protocols. MUSC maintained that its transplant team relied on the incorrect blood type information provided by We Are Sharing Hope SC and followed national standards of care. The hospital did not report Holliman’s death to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), despite a regulation requiring notification of serious medical errors within 10 days. DHEC initiated an investigation only after inquiries from The Post and Courier.<ref name=":0" />
The Joint Commission, a hospital quality oversight body, was also unaware of Holliman’s death until contacted by The Post and Courier. The organization announced it would review the case, as incorrect blood typing is a reportable incident under its Universal Protocol, which mandates a pre-surgery “time-out” to verify critical details like blood type compatibility.<ref name=":0" />
The case drew comparisons to the high-profile 2003 death of Jesica Santillan at Duke University Hospital, where a similar blood type mismatch occurred. Holliman's death, however, received less public attention until his widow, Michelle Holliman, filed a lawsuit against several entities involved in the transplant process.
MUSC accepted the lungs for Holliman, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville accepted the donor’s liver for another patient. Both transplants failed on the same day due to the blood type mismatch. Holliman’s body rejected the lungs, and he died shortly after the procedure. The liver recipient in Tennessee survived but required a second transplant and faced serious complications.<ref name=":0" />
Dr. Bryan Whitson, a transplant surgeon at Ohio State University, described the error as one that “should never happen,” highlighting a systemic failure in the organ-matching process. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services later cited We Are Sharing Hope SC for lacking protocols for handling inconclusive blood tests and failing to report the error at Vanderbilt.<ref name=":0" />
Aftermath
Michelle Holliman filed a lawsuit in July 2020 against We Are Sharing Hope SC, later adding MUSC, UNOS, and a surgeon involved in the procedure as defendants. The lawsuit alleges negligence in the blood-typing process and failure to follow standard protocols. MUSC maintained that its transplant team relied on the incorrect blood type information provided by We Are Sharing Hope SC and followed national standards of care. The hospital did not report Holliman’s death to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), despite a regulation requiring notification of serious medical errors within 10 days. DHEC initiated an investigation only after inquiries from The Post and Courier.<ref name=":0" />
The Joint Commission, a hospital quality oversight body, was also unaware of Holliman’s death until contacted by The Post and Courier. The organization announced it would review the case, as incorrect blood typing is a reportable incident under its Universal Protocol, which mandates a pre-surgery “time-out” to verify critical details like blood type compatibility.<ref name=":0" />
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