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Doctors confident over organ donation meningitis risk | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
A surgeon told an inquest into the deaths of two transplant patients that doctors were confident the donor's meningitis would not be transmitted. | |
Robert Stuart, 67, from Cardiff, and Darren Hughes, 42, of Bridgend, died after being given kidneys infected with meningitis-causing parasitic worms. | |
Doctors knew the donor had died from meningitis before accepting the organs. | |
The consultant said, with hindsight, he would like specialist advice to be sought in difficult cases. | |
The transplants took place at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales last year. | The transplants took place at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales last year. |
Argiris Asderakis, consultant transplant surgeon at the University Hospital of Wales, told Cardiff Coroner's Court that the 39-year-old donor, who was an alcoholic, had undergone a five-day treatment of antibiotics prior to his death. | |
He said: "It was most likely it [the cause of the meningitis] would be covered by the treatment so transmission would not take place." | |
The inquest heard he had made a decision on the suitability of the organ based on the donor's medical history and information provided by his partner to NHS Blood and Transplant. | |
He told Cardiff Coroner's Court: "In hindsight, in cases of great difficulty, we should try to find the most expert advice on the night." | |
Mr Asderakis spoke with Dawn Chapman, a specialist transplant nurse, and said he felt confident making an informed decision that the transplants could go ahead. | |
Mr Asderakis told the inquest that even though the kidneys showed signs of dysfunction, this was not uncommon and once transplanted, he would expect the organ to recover and perform normally. | |
The inquest heard that Mr Hughes was not eligible to receive 90% of organs available as he had anti-bodies in his blood which ruled out nine out of 10 potential donors in the UK. | |
He was waiting for his third transplant and Mr Asderakis said studies show 12% of people waiting for their second or third transplant died within three to five years. | |
Mr Stuart was prioritised for a transplant because of his age. | |
Earlier, the court heard organs from a person with meningitis could still be offered for transplant. | |
Anthony Clarkson from NHS Blood and Transplant said organ donors' families are asked about their health and lifestyle history. | |
He said organs from a person who died from meningitis with an unknown cause would be offered for transplant. | |
Halicephalobus parasite | |
'Opinion' | |
When asked by assistant coroner Christoper Woolley if organs from a patient with meningitis with a known cause are still offered for transplant, he said: "Not that I'm aware of." | |
The partner of the kidney donor had been interviewed when he died, and his liver, heart and lungs were all declined for donation due to his medical history. | |
The inquest was told the donor had a "significant alcohol history" with previous hospital admissions for jaundice. | |
Mr Clarkson said the team at Cardiff were aware that the donor's kidneys had been rejected by five other centres before being offered to them. | |
He said a hospital's decision whether or not to accept an organ is "made on the facts available to them, not on other people's decision to accept or decline". | |
The inquest heard there were "a range of reasons" other transplant centres declined the kidneys, including poor function and the cause of death. | |
The central transplant team was not able to contact the donor's GP as it was the early hours on a weekend, but he said this in itself was not a reason not to offer an organ for transplant. | |
The fact that other hospitals rejected the organs was "no more than evidence of another surgeon's opinion". | |
On Tuesday, the court heard post-mortem examinations revealed both men had the deadly parasitic worm halicephalobus in their bodies after their transplants. | |
Pathologist Fouad Alchami said the primary cause of death for both Mr Hughes and Mr Stuart was meningoencephalitis - a form of meningitis - caused by the presence of the worms. |