Wigan patient's tragic death two years after double lung and heart transplant

Rebecca Lafferty, 33, was taking immunosuppressant medication to stop her body rejecting the new organs, but it also affected her ability to resist infections.

An inquest at Bolton Coroner’s Court this week heard that may have had an impact when she developed pneumonia, along with the fact she still had reduced lung function.

Mrs Lafferty, who lived in Standish with her husband David, died at Wigan Infirmary on November 1, eight days after being rushed in by ambulance.

The inquest was told she had a congenital heart problem and had a heart and double lung transplant on March 12, 2019 at The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

She spent two months in intensive care afterwards and took triple immunosuppressant therapy to help prevent rejection.

Dr James Lordan, consultant respiratory, pulmonary hypertension and lung transplant physician at The Freeman Hospital, said her peak lung function after the transplant only reached around 35 per cent of what had been predicted.

Investigations revealed several possible factors relating to this, including an issue with her diaphragm.

The inquest heard this did not stop Mrs Lafferty enjoying life, being active and going to the gym.

But in 2021 she was given antibiotics by her GP for two chest infections, was finding it harder to breathe and complained of being in pain from an incisional hernia after the transplant.

Doctors were looking into what was happening and found her lung function was declining.

They carried out investigations into possible reflux and whether there was an issue with her oesophagus.

Mrs Lafferty saw doctors in Newcastle twice in October and was sent for an echocardiogram to check on her heart, but she decided to go back for that on another day as she felt tired.

Her husband told the inquest she went into Manchester on October 25 with friends for a meal and event.

But at around 8pm he received a phone call to say she had choked on water and vomited.

He drove to the city centre and found she was “breathing rapidly” like she was having a panic attack.

Mr Lafferty took his wife home and said he then saw that she looked unwell.

She seemed to rally and declined to go to hospital, but her condition worsened later that evening and an ambulance was called.

The inquest heard doctors considered Mrs Lafferty could have had a pulmonary embolism, atypical pneumonia or organ rejection.

Medication was given to cover all possibilities and she was put on a ventilator, due to the severity of her condition.

Doctors consulted with medics in Newcastle, but Mrs Lafferty was too unwell to be transported and there were even concerns about moving her to another part of the hospital for a CT scan.

The scan was carried out on her fourth day there, ruling out an embolism, and an echocardiogram found problems with her heart function.

Despite doctors’ efforts, her condition worsened and she died on November 1.

A post-mortem examination found she died of multi-organ failure after pneumonia, with the transplant also being noted.

There were no signs of her body rejecting the organs.

Dr Lorcan explained Mrs Lafferty’s reduced lung function would have made it more difficult for her to fight an infection.

“She wasn’t well in the background and she clearly had deteriorated over the few months and she had low levels of lung function,” he said.

He suggested she may have aspirated when she choked on the water, which could have led to pneumonia.

Coroner Stephen Teasdale recorded she died “as a consequence of a naturally occurring disease exacerbated by a previous heart and lung transplant and the necessary immunosuppressant therapy”.

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