Transplant patient given smoker's lungs
CAMBRIDGE, England, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A 31-year-old British man died from lung cancer after receiving the lungs of a man who was a heavy smoker, officials in Cambridge, England, said.
Matthew Millington, 31, a corporal in the Queens Royal Lancers and an Iraqi war vet, needed the transplant to save him from an incurable respiratory condition, his father, Lester Millington, said.
An inquest last week into his death found he died from complications of transplant surgery, a report his widow, Siobhan, said she found difficult to accept.
"All Matthew wanted was another set of lungs. He said: 'They have given me a dud pair, get me another set,'" she told The Times of London in a story published Monday.
Millington underwent transplant surgery in April 2007 at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. A lung tumor was discovered six months later and Millington learned his donor had been a heavy smoker, his father said. Because Millington was a cancer patient, hospital policy prevented him from receiving a second pair of lungs. Millington died in February.
Papworth Hospital officials defended the use of smokers' lungs for transplants, saying all organs are screened before surgery, The Times reported.
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/10/ ... 255358843/
Re: Transplant patient given smoker's lungs
This always intrigued me. I myself am a smoker and also an organ donor. I can't help but feel like when I do kick the bucket, some poor sap will be given a part of me that isn't in the best working condition.
Re: Transplant patient given smoker's lungs
Quote:
Originally Posted by flyboy 28
This always intrigued me. I myself am a smoker and also an organ donor. I can't help but feel like when I do kick the bucket, some poor sap will be given a part of me that isn't in the best working condition.
hope you don't take this the wrong way, but that's only another reason to quit.
Re: Transplant patient given smoker's lungs
Quote:
Originally Posted by cancidas
Quote:
Originally Posted by flyboy 28
This always intrigued me. I myself am a smoker and also an organ donor. I can't help but feel like when I do kick the bucket, some poor sap will be given a part of me that isn't in the best working condition.
hope you don't take this the wrong way, but that's only another reason to quit.
I know what you mean. It's a "one of these days..." kinda thing. :oops:
Re: Transplant patient given smoker's lungs
I'll agree James, it's a good reason to quit bud. I've been on Kenny to quit for years now, but to no avail...
Re: Transplant patient given smoker's lungs
Hey you get what you pay for with Socialized Healthcare.....
