Transplant surgeon pleads not guilty in organ harvest case

A transplant surgeon accused of dependent adult abuse during an attempted organ transplant in San Luis Obispo pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the felony charge.

The offense carries a maximum prison sentence of four years.

Transplant surgeon Hootan Roozrokh, 34, of San Francisco was originally facing three felony charges alleging he prescribed excessive amounts of medication during a February 2006 attempted organ harvest at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. Prosecutors alleged he attempted to hasten the death of a disabled man, Ruben Navarro, in order to harvest his organs.

The two charges were dismissed for lack of evidence and failure to apply to this case.

The case is unprecedented in the United States where a transplant surgeon has never been tried for dependent adult abuse in connection with harvesting organs.

A jury trial was scheduled Wednesday to begin Oct. 20 and last from one to three months.

—Leslie Parrilla