Vol. 554 No. 5
998 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of people currently waiting on lung transplants; and the number of people who died from fatal lung disease since July 1997, giving details on a yearly basis. [15850/02]
Pending the establishment of lung transplantation in this country, an agreement is in place with the Freeman Hospital in the UK for the treatment of Irish patients. My Department is advised by the Mater Hospital, Dublin, that there are currently 25 Irish patients on the waiting list for lung transplantation at the Freeman Hospital. In addition, I have been advised that a further two patients are on the waiting list for lung transplantation at other UK centres.
With regard to the numbers of deaths from lung disease, details of these are set out in the following table. It must be noted, however, that the figures refer to all persons who died from any disease of the lung, the vast majority of whom, due to the nature of their illness, would not have been candidates for lung transplants.
|
Cause |
July toDecember1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000* |
2001* |
|
Tuberculosis |
14 |
43 |
33 |
36 |
26 |
|
Whooping Cough |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Late Effects of Tuberculosis |
9 |
11 |
7 |
16 |
4 |
|
Cancer of the Trachea, Bronchus & Lung |
721 |
1,523 |
1,449 |
1,532 |
1,483 |
|
Cystic Fibrosis |
5 |
16 |
25 |
8 |
14 |
|
Acute Bronchitis and Bronchiolitis |
3 |
4 |
6 |
15 |
12 |
|
Other Diseases of the Respiratory System (excl. other diseases of the upper respiratory tract) |
1,941 |
4,826 |
5,379 |
4,981 |
4,390 |
|
Symptoms Involving Respiratory System and other Chest Symptoms |
0 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
Total |
2,693 |
6,425 |
6,901 |
6,589 |
5,933 |
