Mr. John Whelan:

I have not said anything yet. I have been listening very carefully. I thank the Chairman for a moment to say a word from the patient's point of view. I am a patient, just like my colleague Mr. McCutcheon, and I have been through the system from the inside. I have listened to this debate for the last two hours and heard many interesting points of view. It seems at the end of the day that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet and all have the one aim, which is to increase organ donation. I look back at my experience as a patient. Some 11 years ago, I was called in and a family had been asked the crucial question. The right approach had been made. I went through and here I am now, in perfect health. If my donor had been in a different hospital, the result clearly would have been different if that approach had not been made. It seems to me that all the suggestions that have been made have been useful and constructive but the key one from the patient's perspective is that there must be the right connection in the hospital at the coalface, at the crucial time. If that happens, organ donation will be increased. The infrastructure must be there, with a coterie of properly and fully-trained specialist nurses who are able to communicate with the family. One cannot expect the intensivists or intensive care unit nurses to do it. They do it and what has happened is wonderful but by how much could it be increased if the real specialist nurses were located in all relevant hospitals?