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'No failure' when parasitic worm kidneys were transplanted

A surgeon made 'no failures' when he decided to use two kidneys which were infected with a parasitic worm in organ transplants for two men, a Coroner has said.

Cardiff Coroner's Court heard the organs implanted in Darren Hughes and Robert 'Jim' Stuart had been rejected by several other hospitals before they were eventually used.

The two men died shortly after their operations, with a post-mortem pointing to an infection caused by the parasitic worm Halicephalobus.

Although doctors at the time had no idea the rare parasite was present, before these cases it had only been recorded in five humans.

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Infected kidney case raises organ donation questions

The case of two men who died after receiving infected kidneys has raised questions over the system of organ donation and the checks involved.

Jim Stuart and Darren Hughes both underwent surgery in Cardiff last year. The donor was a known alcoholic and the kidneys were infected with parasitic worms.

A coroner ruled that there was no failure by surgeons in the case.

Our Science Correspondent Alok Jha spent the day on a transplant ward in Newcastle talking to patients, some of whom say they'd rather have a high risk organ than stay on the waiting list:

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