SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine - Maine Medical Center officials say they're "optimistic'' they can work through the remaining medical and legal hurdles in a kidney transplant case that has attracted national attention.
Joshua Dall-Leighton of Windham responded to a plea for a donor posted on the back of South Portland resident Christine Royles' car. Hospital spokesman Matt Paul says Maine Medical Center remains hopeful it will "be in a position to perform a successful operation.''
One issue is a fundraising effort attached to the donation. Paul says the hospital must determine how the rules of the National Organ Transplant Act apply to crowd-sourced donations for Dall-Leighton. He says legal advice is expected next week.
The hospital also needs to complete testing and evaluation of Dall-Leighton to confirm he is an eligible kidney donor for Royles.
