Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 25 Nov 1997

Vol. 483 No. 3

Written Answers. - Heart-Lung Transplant Facility.

Paul McGrath

Ceist:

220 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children the progress, if any, which has been made in establishing a heart and lung transplant facility in Ireland; and the funds, if any, for this worthy project which were included in the Estimates for his Department which were recently published. [20403/97]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

I am aware of the difficulties being experienced by patients who are on the waiting list for a lung or heart/lung transplant and I am committed to improving the existing situation. Under present arrangements Irish patients considered in need of lung or heart/lung transplant are referred by their medical consultant for assessment to an established transplant centre in the UK and if suitable are put on a waiting list for a transplant. At present the number of patients on the waiting list exceeds the availability of suitable organs.

The Programme for Government, An Action Programme for the Millennium, includes a commitment to support the establishment of a heart and lung transplant facility in Ireland. My Department is now carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the issues involved in establishing this complex service. It is my view that the immediate requirement is to examine whether the existing service being offered to Irish patients and their families in the UK can be improved. In this regard officials from my Department have raised this matter in recent discussions with the United Kingdom Transplant Support Service Authority which monitors activity across all UK transplant sites. The issue is being examined as a matter of urgency by the UKTSSA.

My officials have also had recent discussions with their counterparts in the Department of Health in London, and arrangements are now being made for appropriate site visits to transplant centres in the UK with a view to contracting work to a selected and proven centre.

The overall assessment of the issues involved in setting up a lung and heart/lung facility in Ireland will have particular regard to the experience of other countries, including those with a population size similar to Ireland, which have previously examined the feasibility of establishing a successful lung or heart/lung transplant programme. My Department is drawing upon the expert views of key professionals in this field as part of the assessment.

It must be recognised that the establishment of any successful transplant programme is an extremely complex and difficult task. One of the critical factors in the successful delivery of a quality transplant programme is whether the level of transplant activity in an established programme is sufficient to maintain the level of expertise required to achieve successful outcomes. It is also essential to have appropriately trained staff, suitable infrastructure and a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure successful outcomes. A phased approach needs to be adopted, recognising the need to build expertise and to create a programme that is viable in terms of the outcome for patients, whether it be at home or abroad.

Officials from my Department have had a number of meetings with the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland to discuss the issues involved in setting up a transplant programme. The association is being kept fully informed of developments in this area and I will meet representatives of the association in the near future to discuss the matter further.