Irish transplant figures revealed
1/5/2008
Ireland has seen 261 heart transplants and 16 lung transplants take place in the country in the last 23 years, new figures have revealed.
Statistics released by the Health Service Executive as part of a Dail reply to Fine Gael TD Paul Kehoe show that ten of the lung transplants concerned single organs, while the remaining six involved both lungs, Irish Health reports.
The procedure first took place in Ireland in 1985 and all of the country's transplants since then have been carried out at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.
Currently, the HSE has an agreement in place with Newcastle's Freeman Hospital to transfer Irish transplant patients to that facility, although this was formed before Mater Hospital was able to host the procedure.
The HSE has said it intends to eventually eliminate the need to send patients to England once a full transplant scheme for Ireland has been established.
Heart failure caused by cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, coronary artery disease, heart valve disease and severe arrhythmias can be treated with a transplant.
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