merrion street

'The total number of transplants carried out in Ireland in 2015 was 266, an increase of 15 on 2014. This includes overall increases in kidney (deceased and living donor combined), lung and liver transplants and the first ever combined heart and lung transplant. I want to welcome this progress and acknowledge the work of our health service staff who made this improvement possible. The failure to restart the pancreas programme and the fall in living kidney donors is hugely disappointing but I am assured that pancreas transplants will recommence in St Vincent's in January now that a suitable surgeon has been identified and tie up with Edinburgh agreed. At the suggestion of the Irish Kidney Assocation, I will ask the Office for Donation and Transplant Ireland (ODTI) and the HSE to draw up proposals to increase the number of kidney transplants in 2016. Recruiting suitable surgeons in Beaumont has proven very difficult but I do want to acknowledge the hard work of the surgeon there who carried more transplants in 2015 than 2014 even though there is a shortage of surgeons.'