The family of a man who died after receiving a liver transplant from a donor with undetected cancer has called for more thorough testing. Tom Tyreman, 63, from Stockton, initially recovered after the operation at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital a year ago, but died of cancer in February.
It was later discovered that a small cancerous tumour in the donor organ had not been picked up by screening. The hospital described the outcome as 'tragic' and said it could not have been anticipated.
Another patient, Pauline Hunt, 49, from Kilmarnock, has also developed cancer after receiving a kidney from the same donor, a woman who died from a blood clot. Mrs Hunt described herself as 'basically under a death sentence'.
Mr Tyreman's sister, Jane Bird, said staff should have been more upfront about the risks. 'We were told he could develop cancer because his immune system was suppressed, but not that he could get it from the organ,' she said. She called for more stringent tests, calling it 'unacceptable' that more vigorous checks cannot be done.
An NHS Blood and Transplant spokesman said donor medical histories are carefully checked, and biopsies are carried out if abnormalities are found. However, in rare cases, small tumours may not be detected in the limited time before transplant. The risk of cancer transmission is 'extremely rare', they added.
