At the time a debate was in progress among the Group Health membership and medical staff as to whether Group Health ought to finance such expensive new medical procedures. The medical staff had established a Bioethics Steering Committee in March 1984, and it was drawing up plans for an Ethics Council and membership forums on the issue of transplants and other expensive procedures.
Gardiner was designated as a prime candidate for a transplant while these discussions were in progress. Group Health President Mr. Gail Warden and Chief of Medical Staff Dr. Turner Bledsoe were called upon to make the decision in the middle of the night when the death of a young man in a car accident made a heart available for Gardiner.
After the successful transplant, the discussions continued and the board and medical staff conducted forums and opinion surveys to test membership opinion. Most enrollees rated the availability of high-tech medical care, as well as Group Health's emphasis on preventive care, as the most important benefits.
The subject of transplants was on the agenda of the board meeting of July 23, 1986, and the meeting was packed with Group Health members and reporters curious about how the trustees would vote. The star of the meeting was Joe Gardiner, who stood up and introduced himself as evidence that heart transplants work. Joe Gardiner advocated coverage for transplants.
Seven of nine trustees agreed, and the financial concerns of two others were addressed. From then on, Group Health pursued a very generous policy in covering the transplantation of many organs and tissues.
Joe Gardiner died in 1991 of liver failure, probably due to the virus Hepatitus C, which in 1985 could not be detected in blood. The virus was likely not present in the transplanted heart, which was healthy at the time of his death. It is not known where he picked up the infection, but it may have been in blood transfused during the transplant operation.
Gardiner was a Seattle School District facilities supervisor before his severe coronary artery disease forced him to cease work. He received his heart from a 27-year-old West Seattle construction worker who died from injuries sustained in an auto accident.
