Updated at 5 p.m.

Hours after learning that an undocumented women who has lived in Portland for 30 years had been denied a liver transplant because of her immigration status, Oregon Health & Science University officials terminated the policy that caused the denial and apologized.

Silvia Lesama-Santos, 46, a stay-at-home mother of four children ranging in age from 4 to 21, received a letter from OHSU on Tuesday. Though Lesama-Santos is insured through her husband, the letter stated that she "must have lawful presence."

On Tuesday evening, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon sent out a press release about Lesama-Santos' situation.

"My mother's only chance at survival is to receive a liver transplant, but OHSU has denied her because she is undocumented," Ivan Gonzalez Lesama, her son, said in the release. "They won't even let her get on the waiting list while we look for another hospital who will help her."

Mat dos Santos, legal director at the ACLU of Oregon, called OHSU's policy of denying care based on immigration status "cruel and inhumane."

Later Tuesday, OHSU put out its own statement.

"It was brought to our attention this evening that an archaic transplant policy was preventing an undocumented individual from being evaluated at OHSU," it read. "Upon learning of the policy, OHSU leaders acted immediately and terminated the policy. We deeply regret the pain this has caused the family.

"The OHSU transplant team is informing the family of our change in policy tonight," the statement continued. "OHSU's legal team has begun a system-wide audit to ensure no other such policies exist."

Lesama-Santos and her family have been informed of the change in policy, ACLU spokeswoman Sarah Armstrong confirmed Wednesday. "They also learned they were accepted to a hospital in Seattle," she added.

Even with the good news about the transplant possibility, the family still faces uncertainty. It's unclear at this point, Armstrong said, whether Lesama-Santos is healthy enough to travel to Seattle, or even healthy enough to get the transplant at OHSU.

Dr. Willscott Naugler, medical director for the liver transplant program at OHSU, said Wednesday the next steps are for Lesama-Santos to undergo an evaluation to ensure a transplant is possible and then a decision will follow whether to put her on the list to get a new liver. Lesama-Santos' insurance would have to sign off on her addition to the list if she's approved, Naugler said.

It's likely Lesama-Santos would make the list and that she'd be close to the top of recipients, he said. Next would come the wait for an available liver, he said.

The now-withdrawn hospital policy had been in place since at least 2007, Naugler said, and this was the first time he'd seen it used.

He said he doesn't believe anyone in the OHSU liver transplant department or the hospital's administration is biased toward undocumented immigrants, "but being an undocumented immigrant is often associated with other things, primarily of which is a lack of insurance," he said.

Lesama-Santos was referred for a liver transplant last year and the evaluation didn't go through because she didn't have insurance at the time, the doctor said.

"Being undocumented, per se, should not have stopped that and that was the policy that was changed," Naugler said. "I think we are with some egg on our face understanding that there was a confusion being undocumented and having no insurance.

"It's unfortunate that it was recognized just (Tuesday) night and it's one of the things that makes us all feel sick and really want to do as much as we can to support this poor family because they've been through a lot."

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker