Calling all Social Workers…

Okay, so my knowledge of social sciences and family well-being aren't all that great, and I know that there are several MSWs here on CC, so I figured I would ask for some help.

We're running a hypothetical transplant board meeting tomorrow for our Doctoring Class in which we have to decide which of three patients should get a heart transplant. The patient that my group is assigned to is a 30-yr-old mother of two (from two different relationships). She can't hardly do anything on her own because she has fulminant heart failure. She lives with her mother and get a lot of help from her brothers. She also has some history of marijuana use.

So here's where I'm doing some research. I am under the impression that this mother is the best qualified to raise her own children. I know that this isn't the case with all mothers, but even in situations where the mother is somewhat negligent, don't children develop better if they remain in their own family? Is this correct?

I found some good support in Donald Winnicott's assessments of a "good-enough mother."  Also, there seem to be a lot of support for child development in a complete family (mother and father), but our case is a single mother. Are there other sources that you know might help?

Trust me, we do - when medicare runs out.

Damn the more I think about it the more furious I am that healthcare hasn't been fixed yet.

and the more furious i am that our healthcare system is being systematically dismantled and made, more and more, to resemble yours.