Two men were inadvertently killed after being selected to receive a
life-saving kidney transplant and going through with the procedure. The
organs had reportedly been donated from the same person, who also
happened to be infected with a parasitic worm.
Robert Stuart and Darren Hughes were killed by the same infection
that is also believed to be the reason for their donor’s death. The men
had both undergone the procedure in the UK at the University Hospital of
Wales, where medical officials are blaming a parasite known as
halicephalobus for their deaths.
A variation of the halicephalobus parasite
According to
BBC,
the parasitic worm “lives in soil and is often found in horses.” The
news outlet further details, “The lawyers say there have only been a
handful of cases in the world of people diagnosed with the infection,
and all have died.”
Lawyers acting in the interest of the deceased men’s families have
since initiated an investigation to find out who’s negligence was to
blame. Although no one is necessarily coming forward and expressing
themselves as the guilty party, director of nursing at Cardiff and Vale
University Health Board, Ruth Walker, has expressed her condolences to
the family while addressing the public saying:
This is a unique and tragic case and everyone at the
health board extends their sincere and heartfelt sympathies to the
families involved.
The health board requested its own independent, external review to establish why these patients died.
That report has been provided to the coroner’s office and we continue
to support his investigation into these tragic deaths. It would be
inappropriate to comment further ahead of the inquest.
Hughes (left), Stuart (right)
Despite the intentions of healthy organs being used in transplants,
that doesn’t seem to have been the insured outcome here. Why do you
think that is? How could a parasitic infection be overlooked, knowing
they would be placing the organs in someone else?
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