Vol. 468 No. 4
184 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Health the plans, if any, his Department has to provide a transplant unit in the Mater Hospital, Dublin 7; if so, the cost of such a unit; the staffing needs of such a unit; and if he will consider this proposal, in particular due to the incidences of cystic fibrosis and heart disease. [15499/96]
Limerick East): Open heart surgery including heart transplants are carried out at the National Cardiac Surgery in the Mater Hospital. There is no lung or heart-lung transplantation programme in Ireland at present.
The Mater Hospital has submitted an outline preliminary proposal for a lung and heart-lung transplantation programme. The cost of the proposal from the Mater Hospital which would include additional cardiac surgery is: capital cost, £2.6 million, and revenue cost, £2.4 million per annum. This would involve the employment of an additional 45 staff.
The establishment of a successful transplant programme for any specialty is an extremely complex and difficult task. It is essential to have appropriately trained staff, suitable infrastructure and a multi disciplinary approach to ensure successful outcomes. The Department's recent experience with the successful liver transplant programme bears this out. I am aware of the difficulties being experienced by patients requiring lung or heart-lung transplants and I am considering options to alleviate these problems.
