Maedhbh annoyed at missing out on transplant

THE 14-year-old girl deprived of a liver transplant due to failures in the Irish system has said she is not angry but “just annoyed” that she missed out on the life-changing transplant.

Maedhbh McGivern from Ballinamore in Leitrim was standing in an aircraft hangar in Sligo last month, ready to board a helicopter to England, when the flight was called off.

Doctors at King’s Cross Hospital in London had to break the news by phone that the efforts to get Maedhbh a flight had taken so long as to exceed the timeframe for transplantation of a liver from a non-breathing donor.

A recent report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) claimed the main reason why no aircraft was organised in time to fly Maedhbh to London was the absence of any agency or individual with sole overall control and responsibility for the task.

In an interview to be broadcast on TV3’s The Morning Show today, the teenager spoke for the first time about missing out on the life-saving transplant.

Maedhbh, on the paediatric liver transplant waiting list longer than any other patient, said: “I’m really upset that I missed out. It was a mistake that someone made. I’m not angry, I’m just annoyed that I missed out.”

The teenager, who has been unable to attend school since last Christmas, said she was “excited” but “a bit scared” when she was first told she would be flying for the transplant.

Her father Joe McGivern said: “We were actually about to board the helicopter when we got the call. There was a lot of emotion that night and then I suppose, disbelief, complete and utter disbelief.”

Mr McGivern said he was shocked by the HIQA report’s findings but expressed confidence that plans are now in place to ensure Maedhbh would be able to travel to London in sufficient time if they receive news of another donor organ.

He admitted that in the event that none of the state agencies can provide an aircraft, the family had arranged to use a private air ambulance located at Weston Airport in Leixlip, Co Kildare.

Mr McGivern also said the family intended to start travelling towards Dublin as soon as they got another call about a donor organ so they would have the option of using aircraft based at Dublin Airport, Baldonnel and Weston.