Man misses life-saving surgery due to not being allowed on plane
A dying South Australian man has missed out on life saving surgery because of a heart-breaking mix-up.
Garry Woods, of Gawler, was ready to fly to Sydney for a double lung transplant but wasn't allowed on the plane.
Mr Woods suffers from Pulmonary Fibrosis, a scarring of the lungs.
It's progressive and there's only one way to stop it.
Emma Paradiso, Mr Woods' granddaughter told 7 News: "It's a matter of life and death".
"He is dying so if he doesn't get the lung transplant he's not going to be with us for much longer."
After years on the donor list, the 66-year-old grandfather received the call he's been waiting for on Thursday morning - Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital had a pair of lungs and had booked him on the next available flight.
His family rushed him to Adelaide Airport, but didn't make it past the Qantas check-in counter.
They were told Mr Woods wasn't on the passenger list.
"At which point I said to them he's got to get on regardless, you need to hold the plane," his son Mark Woods told 7 News.
But they were made to wait three hours for the next flight, arriving in Sydney to crushing news.
"They had to make the decision to give the lungs to somebody else," Mark Woods said.
While Qantas insists it didn't have a reservation for Mr Woods, the hospital is adamant he was booked on the earlier flight. His family just want answers.
"We just don't want it to happen again, not only to us but to other people," said Ms Paradiso.
This is the second time their hopes have been dashed.
Over Christmas they received a similar call but sadly the donor lungs had deteriorated and couldn't be used.
"Totally gutted, couldn't believe that here it came again and we missed out again," said Mark Woods.
Garry Woods and his wife remain in Sydney to discuss his options with specialists.
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