LISN statement following discussion with the National Liver Transplant Programme

LISN met with the St Vincent’s University Hospital liver transplant team after recent media coverage, seeking clarification for patients, transplant recipients, and families.

Why LISN met with the transplant team

Many members of the liver community contacted the Liver Ireland Support Network (LISN) following the recent Sunday Times article about the National Liver Transplant Programme. Given the understandable concerns that such reporting may raise, LISN met with the St Vincent’s University Hospital liver transplant team to discuss the issues raised and seek further clarification.

The team advised that the Sunday Times article was based on an external review commissioned by the transplant team themselves as part of an ongoing quality-improvement process. They told LISN they accept the findings and are actively implementing the recommendations.

Current programme update

• The active transplant waiting list currently stands at 39 patients, with a further 7-8 patients temporarily inactive due to changes in their medical condition.
• The average waiting time for a liver transplant is approximately 118 days, although this varies by medical urgency, blood group, and availability of a suitable donor organ.
• The team advised that there has not been a significant increase in waiting-list deaths in recent years. In 2024, five patients either died while waiting or became too unwell to proceed to transplantation, broadly consistent with previous years.
• There was encouraging news on activity: 24 liver transplants had already been carried out as of 18 June 2026, suggesting an increase compared with the same period last year.

Key issues discussed

The decline in transplant numbers was discussed in detail. The team explained that a significant factor has been a reduction in the number of suitable donor organs available for transplantation. Donors are increasingly older and often have more complex medical conditions, making fewer organs suitable for transplant.

Access to hepatology services across Ireland was also discussed. The team acknowledged that access is not equal across all regions and that some areas have fewer specialist liver doctors available. This can affect how quickly patients are referred for assessment. However, the team reassured LISN that once patients are referred to and assessed by the transplant service, they are treated equally, regardless of where they live.

Improvements underway

Outcomes and assurance

Patient outcomes continue to be carefully monitored through regular review and external benchmarking. The transplant team shared data showing that the vast majority of liver transplant recipients continue to do well after surgery, with outcomes comparable to those reported by many established international transplant centres.

Programme data is regularly reviewed and submitted for external assessment through NHS Blood and Transplant quality assurance processes. The transplant team also acknowledged that further improvements are needed in areas such as patient support services, including physiotherapy, dietetics, psychology, communications, audit systems, and governance.