‘No need’ for transplant teen to relocate

THE father of a Co Leitrim teenager who needs a liver transplant said he has been reassured that there is no need to relocate his family to Dublin or London to ensure her place on the waiting list for a donor organ.

Joe McGivern said that he had confirmed with King’s College Hospital in London that his 14-year-old daughter, Meadhbh, remains on the priority list for receiving an organ from a “non-heartbeating donor.”

It follows a recommendation in a report by the Health Information and Quality Authority that said the Health Service Executive should ensure that processes were in place to involve the parents of potential liver transplant recipients in discussions regarding the logistical suitability of allocating an organ to their child.