Released Prison Inmate Jeopardizes Heart Transplant

A seriously ill woman in order to seek a heart transplant was given a second chance on Monday after returning to court to answer charges she violated the terms of her conditional release by smoking cigarettes.

Diane McCloud, 47, of Hempstead, was given yet another chance on Monday to pursue a potentially life-saving heart transplant after her doctor at (NUMC) stated in a report to the court that McCloud had been non-compliant and had violated eligibility requirements for a Bronx hospital’s heart transplant program by smoking cigarettes and refusing to take part in a screening process for a new heart because she claimed the facility was “too crowded” and she didn’t want to wait around.

The report by Dr. Sanjay Doddamani, chief of cardiology at NUMC, also said that McCloud had failed to participate in mandated, routine drug screenings.

McCloud’s attorney, Leonard Isaacs, said McCloud was rejected from Montefiore Hospital’s Heart Transplant program as a result of her smoking. “She is now attempting to get into Mt. Sinai Hospital’s Heart Transplant program,” said Isaacs, speaking from his Valley Stream office.

“The judge addressed my client’s alleged non-compliance regarding the various conditions and still gave her another chance to comply for a heart transplant program." Isaacs called both Nassau County District Court Judge Francis Ricigliano and Nassau County DA Dana Boylan “very kind” for not opposing the application to give his client a second chance.

“But, if she [McCloud] continues to not comply with court orders, the judge could, at his discretion, send her back to jail to serve the remainder of her sentence,” said Chris Munzing, a spokesman for Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

McCloud had already served six months of a 15-month jail sentence for two thefts from a Westbury Target store when she was released from the Nassau County Correctional Center in January to seek a heart transplant. According to Isaacs, McCloud had a history of heart problems and developed progressive heart disease while incarcerated and was later recommended for a transplant.

According to Isaacs, the judge’s orders included no more smoking and regular attendance at a Nassau County-administered drug program called STEP for random drug testing. “There were no allegations that she used drugs, but she must comply with the screenings anyway,” he added.

Isaacs reiterated the importance of his client remaining free in order to have a chance at a transplant. He said that in addition to the fact that the county will not pay for any prisoner’s transplant, no transplant program would accept an incarcerated person due to the reality that in the case of tissue rejection a prisoner would never make it to the hospital in time.

Another roadblock, said Isaacs, to getting treatment in jail is that the county would not drive McCloud into Manhattan for treatment.

Noting that McCloud had struggled with tobacco use since age 13, he described her in court as using a portable pump containing an intravenous liquid to keep her heart pumping.

“Unfortunately, she wouldn’t survive very long as an incarcerated prisoner…What this appearance today was about is trying to save this woman’s life,” Isaacs said. “It’s simple. Diane can’t smoke anymore. She’s down to the wire at this point.”

Doddamani added that “When people smoke, there is a greater likelihood of bronchial infections and a host of other complications.”  He said that most transplant programs shy away from people using any type of drugs or tobacco products. “If she wants to have a chance, then she has to get her act together.”

In December of last year, Doddamani told Isaacs that McCloud could have little more than six months to live without a heart transplant.

Despite his apparent leniency, Judge Ricigliano was reportedly highly agitated as he addressed McCloud in court. According to broadcast news reports, the judge scolded her, asking “You’re kidding me? I grant you an application and now you’re playing games?”

News reports said that when the judge threatened to resentence McCloud to the maximum, she began to cry and he responded, “I’m not interested in your tears.”

Outside the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola, McCloud admitted to reporters that she smokes about “four cigarettes a day.”

Asked by a News 12 reporter why she risked her second chance at life by smoking, McCloud said, “It was just a dumb choice I made.”