The Royal Liverpool University Hospital has launched an investigation into the circumstances in which two kidney transplant patients received them from a donor who had an aggressive form of cancer.

Robert Law and Gillian Smart are both now receiving chemotherapy treatment after a post-mortem on the donor, who died at another hospital, revealed that she had been suffering from intravascular B-cell lymphoma, which is difficult to diagnose. Both patients had been ready to accept kidneys from their respective sisters, but instead accepted the one on offer from the deceased donor. Both have since made formal complaints to the NHS and are taking legal advice.

The operations took place last November and occurred only weeks before new guidance was circulated warning clinicians of the risks of cancer transmission from donor to patient. An official at the NHS Blood and Transplant Service (NHSBT) said of the incident, that while risks can be minimised, they can't be abolished.

James Neuberger, associate medical director at NHSBT, said that while no transplant was ever risk-free, everything is done to ensure that the organ to be donated is tested and shown to be fit for transplant. He said: "A full medical history of the donor is always obtained from the medical notes and from talking to the donor's family, as well as virology screening by a blood test. Tests are also undertaken to ascertain how well the organs are functioning."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/22/transplant-patients-kidneys-donor-cancer