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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