I think the issue is that so few organs are suitable because so few are being donated.

The answer is in the article; “Jim McCarthy, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Mater, said sizing and blood group issues have been the reason for hearts to be exported over the years.”

Do you want them to insert a heart into an Irish person which doesn’t fit or gets rejected, thereby probably killing the person? Or save a life abroad?

As much as I love thejournal.ie, I’m really disappointed in some of the sensationalist headlines that are used. Instead of “Seventy per cent of donor hearts exported in 2010″, why not say “Hearts that are not suitable for Irish patients were exported in 2010″? I know it doesn’t make for such an eye-catching article but then, this isn’t really a news story when you look at the detail.

Transplant donors have to match up to recipients, not just by blood type but by tissue type and antibody typing, therefore even if there was 10 donors in Ireland that does not mean that they will match 10 recipients on the Irish waiting list! Also the article does not comment about how many Irish recipients were transplanted in Newcastle or other British transplant centres last year by british donors. It’s not a choice of the transplant teams to send the organs to the UK,it’s necessity.

My concern would be that if the transplant team are only doing 3 transplants a year, how can they (surgeon, assistant surgeons, anaesthetists, perioperative nursing staff and ICU staff) maintain the clinical skills required for such procedures?

Yes i did read it fully connor
I lost a friend who needed a transplant she flew to newcastle where her new organs were waiting
When she had arrived her organs had already been transplanted to a “more needier” person
She died over there a week later

It wasnt the first time she gad gone to newcastle and was let down
I have seen the system from that side and it isnt always fair

Why is this happening when we have people waiting here for transplants ?

I am personally against opt out organ donation. The idea that the state owns your organs unless you opt out is surely unconstitutional and against your human rights. The other question to ask is how many organs were imported into Ireland and how does this compare to other eu countries/ leaders in this area.