‘More tests should be done on the organs before they are used’
INQUIRY CALL
The two families shattered by the transplant tragedy called for an inquiry yesterday to ensure every lesson is learned.
They say they want changes in the way donors are selected so everything possible is done to ensure only healthy organs are used.
Pauline said: “The gift of new life is a wonderful thing and none of us want to frighten others on the transplant waiting list or put people off from being donors.
“But something is terribly wrong when people are dying from transplanted organs.
“How, in this day and age, can aggressive cancers be missed?
“We know they need to move quickly, but tests results don’t take forever.
“Who would use the lungs from someone being treated for pneumonia and a serious bacterial infection?
“Tests should have flagged up the risk of using those organs.”
Judy Tyreman said: “None of the patients here were at death’s door. They could all have lived on without their transplants.
“If there is any risk or doubt over the state of an organ, surely a patient should be given that information so they can decide whether to take that risk, or offer the organs to someone who is so ill they are willing to take that risk.”
The families are calling for a parliamentary inquiry and want changes brought in so there is more stringent testing of organs.
Gordon Hunt, Pauline’s husband, said: “None of this will change what happened to all of us.
“But we will have achieved something if the changes we want are brought in.
“At the moment, it appears the transplant service is so desperate to bring down waiting lists, it feels to me like they are playing Russian roulette with patient’s lives.
“And when things go wrong, families are kept in the dark.
“We’re all for lives being saved, but this current system need to change.”
SNP MP Dr Lisa Cameron has been backing the families pressing for an inquiry and will address the Health and Social Care Committee in the House of Commons on January 8.
She said: “I will continue to press ahead on this issue and do all I can to ensure these families get answers to the questions they have.
“I’m writing to the chair of the committee, Dr Sarah Wollaston, to have the matter raised and brought to her attention.”