The family of the first person to die of Ebola in the U.S. is upset with the patient’s medical care, and called his treatment “unfair.”
Thomas Eric Duncan, who is from Liberia, died today after being infected with the Ebola virus. He had been in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, since his diagnosis on Sept. 28.
Duncan’s nephew Joe Weeks told ABC News he felt Duncan had “unfair” medical treatment. Weeks suggested that Duncan did not get the same treatment being given to Ebola patient Ashoka Mukpo in a Nebraska hospital, although he did not detail that alleged difference.
He said the family questioned why Duncan was not moved to Emory University Hospital, where two American health workers were successfully treated after becoming infected with Ebola in Liberia.
“No one has died of Ebola in the U.S. before. This is the first time,” Weeks told ABC News. “We need all the help we can get.”
Weeks said hospital officials told the family they had all the experience needed to treat Duncan.
Weeks also said the family was frustrated that Duncan was not given donated blood from Ebola survivors. Weeks said hospital officials told the family “that the blood wasn’t a match.”
Two other Ebola patients being treated in the U.S. were given donated blood from Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly, in the hopes that Ebola antibodies can be passed on from the donor to the patient.
There is no confirmed treatment for Ebola and blood donation from Ebola survivors is one approach recommended by the World Health Organization.
Although Weeks told ABC News he was unhappy with medical treatment, other relatives thanked the local community for their support.
Louise Troh, the mother of Duncan’s teenage son and the woman referred to as his wife by family members, released a statement thanking Dallas and local community leaders for their help during this ordeal.
“Without their help, I can’t imagine how we could have endured,” wrote Troh.
But Troh also said the trusts that “a thorough examination will take place” into Duncan’s care.
Troh’s son with Duncan, Karsiah Duncan, 19, had been hoping to see his father, but was unable to see him in the isolation ward before he died.
Calls and emails to the hospital were not immediately answered.
