Two transplant patients died after receiving kidneys from the same alcoholic donor which had been turned down previously by a Glasgow hospital, an inquest has heard.

Robert Stuart, 67, from Cardiff, and Darren Hughes, 42, from Bridgend, underwent transplants at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, last year.

The pair died days apart and lab tests later showed they had been infected with the deadly parasitic worm halcephalobus, which a pathologist believes came from their organ donor.

Cardiff Coroner's Court was told yesterday a post-mortem had not been carried out on the 39-year-old donor from Manchester - who doctors said had died from a suspected viral infection.

An inquest heard question marks over the man's death prompted seven hospitals to decline using his organs, including in Glasgow, where the Western Infirmary has a transplant unit.

Relatives of the two dead men said they would not have given their consent for the operations had they known more.

Mr Hughes' father Ian said he was shocked after finding out the kidney had come from an alcoholic - thinking it had come from a healthy man who died in a car crash.

He said: "The first time we knew anything was wrong was after Darren's death. We were later told the donor was an alcoholic who had cirrhosis of the liver.

"If I had known what his lifestyle was, I would not have signed the consent form."

Mr Hughes said following his son's death he had a meeting with health officials and said he was told that "other hospitals had rejected" the donor's organs because they had deemed them "unfit for transplant."