A Cork mother of two who is critically ill, having spent several years battling against hepatitis C, is due to travel by air ambulance to London today for a liver transplant operation.
Ms Sylvia O'Leary (32), from Ballincollig, was at the centre of controversy earlier this week after her family accused the Department of Health of gambling on her life by delaying payment of a compensation package.
The family's solicitor, Ms Melissa Gowan, issued a statement claiming that the Government was postponing "signing off" on the deal, believed to be worth about €1 million, because Ms O'Leary was at risk of imminent death.
However, the allegations were denied by Minister for Health, Mr Martin, who said that his Department would have honoured an agreement made in early December even in the event of the woman's death.
The hepatitis C victim has been on a life-support machine at Cork University Hospital since December 21st last following partial liver and kidney failure.
The Department finalised details of a compensation package for Ms O'Leary on Christmas Eve after the family had gone public on the matter.
She is to be flown by air ambulance to King's College Hospital in London this morning with the aid of the Department of Health.
Surgeons at the hospital plan to carry out the transplant as soon as Ms O'Leary's condition can be stabilised. However, since she is in a critical condition, there are fears that she may not survive the surgery.
Ms O'Leary has had two previous liver transplant operations at the hospital - in 1991 and last March. It was during the first of these operations that she contracted hepatitis C through a unit of contaminated blood.
The State was deemed liable for the infection by virtue of the fact that Ms O'Leary was under its care at the time.
Ms O'Leary had been referred to the UK clinic because of the absence of liver transplant facilities in the Republic.
Ms Gowan, who has handled a number of other hepatitis C infection cases in the south-west region, said that Ms O'Leary's husband, Des, and their two children, Emma (13) and Dillon (6), were hopeful that the operation would be a success.