A meeting of officials from the Department of Health and representatives of a hospital in Newcastle to discuss the case of a Kerryman who is in urgent need of a lung transplant has ended without agreement.
Freeman Hospital has a contract to carry out Irish lung transplant operations, but is refusing to operate on 29-year-old Billy Burke on medical grounds.
However, surgeons in Manchester are willing to perform the operation, but are unable to proceed until a lung is released from Freeman Hospital.
Mr Burk's family has made a personal appeal to the Minister for Health Micheál Martin to intervene to save his life.
Mr Burke's sister, Lisa Burke Joyce and a family friend Ann Foley, gave a letter to Mr Martin as he attended the annual conference of the Irish Medical Organisation in Killarney.
