A thankful Joe McGivern, whose daughter Meadhbh got a liver transplant in September having missed out in July, recalls a turbulent 2011 and looks forward to a stress-free family life into the future

IRISH children awaiting transplant operations in Britain may no longer be able to avail of organs from “non-heartbeating” donors if they live more than three hours travel time from the British hospital where the surgery will take place.

THE failure to arrange a flight in time to bring Leitrim teenager Meadhbh McGivern to London for a life-saving liver transplant operation was primarily due to the absence of a single co-ordinating agency or individual with overall charge of the patient’s transport arrangements.

A teenage girl missed a vital liver transplant in London because of a lack of leadership and an unreliable system for arranging rapid air ambulance transport, a health watchdog has found.

AN investigation into the circumstances that led to a young girl being unable to fly to a London hospital for a liver transplant is expected to be completed in two to three weeks.