Bernard J. Durkan
Question:181 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children the facilities available for heart and lung transplants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14729/00]
Written Answers. - Transplant Services.
The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government, An Action Programme for the Millennium, contains a specific commitment to support the establishment of a heart and lung transplant facility in Ireland.
The Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin, has been designated as the surgical site for the programme. A project team at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital is currently planning the development of the transplant unit as part of a wider development programme at the hospital. Pending the completion of the overall hospital development project, an interim solution is proposed by the hospital for the programme which includes the provision of theatre and associated facilities. The hospital has recently appointed a number of key personnel to the programme, including a consultant transplant surgeon.
Pending the establishment of an Irish based programme, an agreement has been entered into with the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, for the treatment of Irish patients requiring a lung or heart and lung transplant. This agreement is for a two-year period and came into effect on 1 April 1999. In addition, a number of Irish patients are also attending other transplant centres in the UK.
I am committed to ensuring that the Irish programme, when introduced, will be in a position to match the highest international standards in lung and heart-lung transplantation.