Darren
Hughes, 42, and Robert 'Jim' Stuart, 67, died after given the kidneys
from a transplant donor infected with a parasitic wormTwo patients died after being given kidney transplants infected with a parasitic worm, it was revealed today.
Darren
Hughes, 42, and Robert 'Jim' Stuart, 67, were each given a kidney from a
transplant donor who was carrying the deadly worm in his organs when he
died.
Health
bosses have confirmed the 'unique and tragic case' is being
investigated after both patients died within three weeks of the kidney
transplants.
Doctors
were not aware the donor had the worm - known as Halicephalobus, which
lives in soil and is found in horses - when the transplant
operations were carried out at the University Hospital of Wales in
Cardiff.
Mr Stuart and Mr Hughes began to 'deteriorate rapidly' after their surgery and died less than three weeks later.
The two men are part of only five cases ever recorded across the world - and all have died from the worm infection.
Mr Stuart, of Cardiff, and Mr Hughes, of Bridgend, had kidney transplants in November 2013 but both died before Christmas.
A
post-mortem examination revealed they both died from infection called
Meningeoencephaltis which was caused by the parasitic worm
Their families are now taking legal action and an inquest is due to be held next week into their deaths.
Their
solicitor Julie Lewis, medical negligence expert at legal firm Irwin
Mitchell, said: 'The families are both desperately seeking answers as to
how these tragedies could have happened and what measures should have
been taken to ensure the patients safety.
'They
have serious concerns about the information they have heard so far
about what happened and hope that the inquest will provide them with
answers to the many questions they have about the circumstances leading
up to the deaths.'
Miss
Lewis added: 'There have only been five reported cases in the world of
people diagnosed with the infection, all have been fatal.
'The donor of the kidneys died from the same infection.'
The transplant operations were carried out at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff
Ruth
Walker, Director of Nursing at Cardiff and Vale University Health
Board, said: '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 in
appropriate to comment further ahead of the inquest.'
They
are taking advice from specialist medical negligence lawyers in the
hope it 'will provide much-needed answers about how their loved ones
died'.
Investigations
have been carried out by University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, NHS
Blood and Transplant and Public Health England and Public Health Wales.
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