Grey’s Anatomy: 10 Most Tragic Patient Deaths, Ranked

ABC’s hit medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy, completed its 16th season this year and if rumors are to be believed, then the show is getting ready to air its 17th season in the coming year. When discussing Grey’s, one automatically falls into the rut of talking and writing about the protagonist, Meredith Grey, and her various relationships—lovers, husband, friends, colleagues. The surgical interns, residents, and attendings at Seattle Grace/Grey Sloan Memorial take up most of the audience’s attention.

But there is another major side to the story which often goes unnoticed, and that is the patients who get admitted to the hospital. After all, there can be no doctor without patients. Over the years, the show has given the fans some pretty interesting patients, some of whose stories have ended with tragic deaths. Let us take a look at some of the most heartrending patient deaths on the show.

10 Susan Grey (Season 3)

Susan was Thatcher Grey’s second wife, mother to Molly and Lexie, and the only person among whatever family Meredith ever had, who was genuinely interested in her and wanted to be a part of her life.

In season 3, Susan came to Seattle Grace, complaining of hiccups. Meredith and Thatcher even wondered whether she was trying to trick them into getting together. However, things spiraled from there and what had begun as simple hiccups ended with Susan’s death. Thatcher was naturally shattered and in his grief, held Meredith responsible for his wife’s death.

9 Nick Hanscom (Season 4)

Nick Hanscom had had a giant tumor in his carotid artery which had been removed by Mark Sloan. However, Nick’s artery had become practically exposed after the surgery and it ran the risk of bursting at any moment.

Lexie Grey was left in charge of Nick until Dr. Sloan could come back and operate on him further. Nick was the proverbial nice guy, who had been dumped by his girlfriend after he developed the tumor. He struck up a conversation with Lexie and was having a light-hearted moment with her when his artery burst rather horrifically. The doctors did their best with him but Nick died, leaving Lexie devastated.

8 Mary Portman (Season 7)

Mary was Bailey’s patient who was admitted for a colostomy reversal surgery but got embroiled in a shooting incident when a grieving husband of a dead patient wreaked havoc in the hospital wielding a gun. Mary was with Bailey every step of the way as the latter tried her best to save a dying Charles Percy.

Six months after the incident, Mary came back to finally get her surgery, and although the operation went smoothly, she never woke up. The fact that she had survived a gunman only to die from a relatively simple surgery was tragic indeed.

7 Karin Taylor (Season 14)

Remember Matthew Taylor, the paramedic who almost married April Kepner, but got jilted at the altar at the last moment? Well, before he ended up marrying Kepner for real in the season 14 finale, Matthew had been married to Karin.

Karin came into the hospital in labor and gave birth to a little girl. The delivery was emergent but smooth enough until she started feeling pain. Her condition deteriorated very fast and she died unexpectedly, leaving behind a devastated husband and a newborn. Although Matthew did find happiness with April again afterwards, yet to learn that he had been deeply hurt once but had managed to move forward and find love, only to lose that love all over again, was tragic beyond words.

6 Denny Duquette (Season 2)

Denny was the handsome patient with a weak heart who was waiting for his turn for a transplant. He fell in love with Izzie Stevens, and the attraction soon became mutual.

One of the major storylines of season 2 was Izzie’s growing feelings for her patient, and the season finale was a rather emotionally wrought episode where Izzie went as far as to cut his LVAD wire and even practically stole a heart from another patient who was above Denny on the transplant list. Despite all that, Denny died suddenly and tragically, even though his surgery had been a success. The sight of Izzie clinging to a dead Denny was one of the most tragic moments of the series in its early days.

5 Mark Sloan (Season 9)

Plastic surgeon Mark Sloan was one of the doctors who had been aboard the aircraft that had crashed in the middle of nowhere on its way to Boise in the shocking season 8 finale, ‘Flight’. For some time after the crash, Mark seemed to be doing okay but his condition deteriorated rapidly after the love of his life, Lexie Grey died tragically in front of him. Mark collapsed soon after and had to be kept alive by the other doctors, Cristina in particular.

Season 9 opened with Mark being in a coma, he had also requested to be taken off life support if he did not come out of his coma in a month’s time. For the sentimental, it is possible that the brilliant, handsome Mark Sloan just gave up after Lexie died, and realized he would never be able to tell her that he loved her after all.

4 Stan (Season 4)

The same episode that had Nick Hanscom, saw another tragedy when an ambulance crashed in the hospital bay into another ambulance, overturning it in the process.

The two paramedics stuck inside the overturned ambulance were Ray and Stan. The two were best friends and the latter’s wife was a nurse in the hospital itself. The doctors, despite desperately wanting to help weren’t able to save Stan who was trapped underneath the rig waist downwards. If he was so much as moved he was sure to have bled out. The scene where Stan’s wife is summoned to see her husband one last time, followed by his eventual death is heart-wrenching, to say the least.

3 George O’Malley (Season 5)

The lovable George O’ Malley died tragically at the end of season 5, having suffered horrific injuries after jumping in front of a bus to save a woman on the street.

George’s injuries were so severe that not even his closest friends at the hospital were able to recognize him, and he was labeled a John Doe for the longest time. George was one of the core cast members for the first five seasons and his shocking death marked one of the first tragedies that were to befall Meredith and her friends over the course of the next seasons.

2 Henry Burton (Season 8)

One of the most tragic patient deaths in the history of Grey’s has been that of Henry Burton, the heart patient whom Dr. Teddy Altman married at a whim and later fell in love with.

Henry developed complications and was admitted for surgery at the hospital. Teddy, of course, couldn’t possibly operate on her own husband. Moreover, since she was busy with another surgery, she wasn’t even informed of the tragedy until much later. The drama surrounding Henry’s death was enough to move anybody to tears.

1 Jessica (Season 5)

Jessica was the terminally ill little girl in season 5’s ‘Sweet Surrender’ whom Bailey held and comforted as her dad ran around in denial, desperately trying to get her help.

Jessica died in her father’s arms as he kept talking to her, trying to cheer her up during her very last moments. Grey’s has shown many terminally ill patients pass away since its inception, but the memory of little Jessica curled up in a doctor’s arms remains one of the strongest visuals that is sure to spring into the audience’s mind again and again.

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