Cutbacks set to delay transplant units

HOSPITAL cutbacks are likely to delay the availability of life-saving heart and lung transplants in Ireland.

While the money needed to establish the transplant unit at Dublin’s Mater Hospital has been provided, the hospital is finding it difficult to deliver an acute hospital service because of budget shortfalls.

“It won’t stop the project going ahead, because the funding is already there, but the difficulties being experienced by the hospital are likely to impact on how quickly we get going,” said Mr Freddie Wood, the cardio-thoracic surgeon heading up the project.

Mr Wood said a certain amount of building work still had to be completed. It had been planned to have the transplant unit in operation by the autumn, but that deadline is unlikely to be met now.

There are 25 people in Ireland desperately in need of a heart and lung transplant. They will have to travel to England for the operation if a suitable donor becomes available.

Based on the current donation rate, the transplant unit in the Mater Hospital would be capable of carrying out between 10 and 15 transplants a year.

Mr Wood said there were more than sufficient organs available to meet the transplant need in Ireland. “We are a net exporter of donor organs, particularly heart and lungs,” he said.

After the 1997 election, the Government committed itself to developing a 25 million heart-lung transplant facility. However, The project only got funding to

allow for the long-awaited service only arrived in last December’s Budget.

Mr Wood said he was still aiming to have the unit perform the first of many complex transplant operations this autumn, even though there was still a lot of preparatory work that would have to be completed first.

The cardio-thoracic high dependency unit has yet to be built and furnished and two intensive care units have to be adapted to cater for the needs of transplant patients.

Last week the hospital gave approval for the building to go ahead and for the appointment of additional staff.

All of the units have to be operational for a three-month period before any transplant procedure can be performed, so that the team is assured that the environment in which patients are placed is satisfactory.

“Because of the present funding difficulties, not just in the Mater, but in the acute hospital service generally, I do see delays happening. I have to be realistic about it,” said Mr Wood.