A FATHER-of-two who under-went a life-saving liver transplant contracted cancer from the donor organ and died within a year of the operation.

Medics say Whitfield Peter John Dickinson was desperately unlucky'.

His transplant surgeon Dr Raj Prasad said: "In the whole world there are only about five or six cases of a tumour being transplanted from a donor to a patient."

Mr Dickinson, known as Peter, battled against chronic liver disease before undergoing a liver transplant in July 2002 at St James' Hospital in Leeds.

Dr Prasad said there was no hint in the donor's medical history of any risks.

Mr Dickinson, of Heysham Road, Heysham, recovered well and returned home. But in November a patient's pancreas, transplanted from the same donor, was found to be cancerous.

Dr Prasad said the risk of the liver also being cancerous was considered very small' and Mr Dickinson was not told the news to spare him the trauma.

But, he said, by then any cancerous cells would have already got into his circulation.

Mr Dickinson did not respond to chemotherapy and died on June 27, 2003, at Royal Lancaster Infirmary. He was 42.

Consultant physician Dr Colin Brown said: "We all felt Peter was desperately unlucky. To succumb to a tumour from what was regarded as a healthy donor was extremely unlucky. It is entirely possible that Peter's case was unique."

Coroner Howard McCann said: "Peter was desperately ill and had done everything asked of him to be considered a suitable transplant patient. It is an unbelievable series of misfortunes."

He recorded a verdict of misadventure.

Mr Dickinson leaves his wife Dee, children Gareth and Krista, and two sisters Mel and Sue.

After the inquest, his family said they should have been told about the cancer risks in November. They believe he could have tried fighting the tumour while he was strong.

"Instead we just watched him die, pumped full of morphine. I have lost faith in hospitals and doctors. He was a fighter why wasn't he told?" said his widow Dee, who is now taking advice about possible legal action.