SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The California state medical board has dropped its misconduct complaint against a transplant surgeon who was cleared of criminal charges that he tried to hasten a patient's death to harvest organs.
The Medical Board of California withdrew the accusation against Dr. Hootan Roozrokh on May 27. Its 2008 complaint accused the San Francisco surgeon of improperly being in the operating room before the patient died, and of prescribing painkiller medication.
State law prohibits transplant teams from having a hand in the care of the patient from which they intend to harvest organs.
The criminal case prompted the United Network for Organ Sharing to develop rules for cardiac-death donation and required 257 transplant hospitals and 58 organ procurement groups to do the same.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.