Two men die after receiving parasite-infected kidneys from alcoholic homeless man
TWO MEN died after unknowingly receiving donated kidneys infected with a parasitic worm from a homeless alcoholic – after the organs had been refused by several other hospitals.
Father-of-six Darren Hughes, 42, and new grandfather Robert "Jim" Stuart, 67, died within days of receiving kidneys from a vagrant who suffered cirrhosis of the liver and meningitis.
The men were given transplants unknowingly infected with a parasitic worm which had cause their donor to contract meningeoencephaltis, ultimately killing him.
Organs from the man were rejected for transplant by rejected by every hospital they had been offered to before they were accepted by the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff.
The kidneys had been described as of "poor function" in documents.
Mr Hughes and Mr Stuart were both telephoned in the early hours of November 30 and told that a "good match" had been found for them.
But following the transplants the men's condition deteriorated rapidly and just three weeks later both were dead after becoming infected with the same parasitic worm that killed their donor.
The parasite - known as Halicephalobus which lives in soil and is found in horses - lays eggs in the liver and kidneys and then travels to the brain, causing meningitis.
Darren Hughes' father Ian told the inquest that he signed the transplant consent form for his disabled son.
He said: "Darren was not told he would be receiving an infected kidney.
"I now feel that I signed his death warrant."
Darren was not told he would be receiving an infected kidney. I now feel that I signed his death warrant
He said the family were under the impression that the donor was a young man who had been killed in a car crash earlier that day.
Mr Hughes said: "After he died we were told that the donor lived rough, was alcoholic, had cirrhosis of the liver and that they didn't know the cause of the meningitis that killed him.
"We find it difficult why the hospital in Cardiff used these kidneys. They had been rejected from all other hospitals - all his other organs were considered unfit for transplant."
Judith Stuart, the wife of Robert, said the couple had just returned from a cruise - and were looking forward to the birth of their second grandchild after his transplant.
She said: "We weren't told anything whatsoever about the donor or his lifestyle. I walked down with Jim and said goodbye at the theatre doors."
The families of both men said they had been happy to stay on dialysis "for the rest of their lives" if a suitable kidney never came forward.
They also said that if they had known about the donor's background and unknown circumstances surrounding his death, they would not have given consent for the transplants.
Mr Hughes told the inquest at Cardiff Coroner's Court about his son's final days as the parasite took over his body.
He said: "Darren couldn't feel his legs, couldn't control his bowels and was coming in and out of consciousness.
"He said: 'Dad I am frightened, I am scared, I don't know what is happening. No more hospital Dad, I have had enough'."
Mr Hughes said his son asked how his wife Andrea was before slipping into a coma which he never came out of.
Both families said they only found out about the background of the donor during a meeting with doctors after the deaths of their loved ones.
A representative for the University of Wales Hospital suggested that the surgeon had told them prior to the transplant that the donor had died of a brain infection which was low risk.
Mr Hughes said: "No, that is not true, that is false."
The inquest continues.
