Transplant pair given cancer-infected kidneys

Patients were given cancer-infected kidneys at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital
12 April 2012

Two transplant patients are having chemotherapy after being given kidneys from a woman with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, it emerged today.

Robert Law and Gillian Smart had been preparing for live transplants from their sisters but accepted the donor's kidneys instead. It was only after transplantation, during a post-mortem examination, that it was discovered the donor had a hard to identify disease called intravascular B-cell lymphoma.

The cancer was not picked up in routine checks. An investigation has been launched by the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, where the operations took place in November, and by the transplant service NHS Blood and Transplant.

Mr Law, 59, from Wirral, Cheshire, said: "I don't know whether there is anyone to blame or not. We want to find out how, why and when and what mistakes have been made, if any. Given that I had a live donor, who has been tested, gone through all the procedures, why was I given a cancer-infected kidney from someone else? Anger has not really entered my mind ... all my energies are focused on getting better."

Ms Smart, 46, from St Helens, said: "This was where my life could start again. Now I think, goodness, I may have many years of fighting a potentially fatal illness."

The case raises questions about guidance to patients and whether sufficient checks are made.

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