Queensland Heart Valve Bank closed amid mismanagement claims

QUEENSLAND’S only facility for collecting heart valves for cardiac patients has been closed for four months amid allegations of serious mismanagement.

Tissue collected by the heart valve bank is used for cardiac and vascular procedures in both adults and children. Picture: Jackson Flindell

QUEENSLAND’S only facility for collecting heart valves for cardiac patients has been closed for four months amid allegations of serious mismanagement which have sparked a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation.

Doctors are being forced to source human tissue from interstate for an average of two patients a week and there are no valves being collected from organ donors in Queensland, The Courier-Mail can reveal.

Metro South chief executive Stephen Ayre confirmed the closure meant no heart valves were being collected from organ donors in Queensland.

The Queensland Heart Valve Bank was closed without an announcement on January 29 and the scientists running it were stood aside.

The CCC is investigating allegations of mismanagement, as is Metro South Hospital and Health Service, which manages the facility.

Tissue collected by the bank is used for cardiac and vascular procedures on both adults and children. While some patients can be treated with synthetic valves, others require human tissue, which usually comes from organ donors.

Metro South chief executive Stephen Ayre told The Courier-Mail no patients were affected by the closure because tissue samples could be obtained from similar banks in NSW and Victoria.

He confirmed the closure meant no heart valves had been collected from organ donors in Queensland.

“There is no impact to patients or patient care following the temporary closure of the heart valve bank in Queensland,” Dr Ayre said.

“Two staff members who work in the bank have been suspended on full pay while a series of allegations are investigated.”

The internal Queensland Health review, which will report findings to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, is likely to be completed next month but it is not clear if or when the facility will re-open.

Complaints about the facility were referred to Health Minister Steven Miles in February and his office said Queensland Health was handling the matter.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the closure cast doubt over the future supply of human tissue.

“Queenslanders deserve to know why the heart valve bank has been shut, when it’ll be reopened and how can patient care be guaranteed in the meantime,” she said.