NHS: Imperfect Organs Used in Transplants

The head of a National Health Service transplant agency said British surgeons have been using imperfect organs from pensioners in transplant surgeries.

Transplant manager Chris Rudge said that due to a shortage of available organs nationwide, organs have been taken from people who died in their 60s to complete necessary transplant surgeries, The Sunday Times of London reported.

There are certain characteristics that increase the risk of the transplant and the most obvious one is how old the donor is, Rudge said of the trend.

The medical revelation from the NHS official comes after a hospital near the city of Cambridge has been the target of allegations regarding inappropriate transplant surgeries.

The hospital had been accused of using two damaged hearts in a pair of recent transplant surgeries on the same patient, who later died following the procedures.

Rudge said there was no evidence that officials at Papworth Hospital had used unsuitable organs, but added that such incidents would occur less if higher quality organs were available for transplants.