But within weeks a blunder saw medics misjudge his crucial antirejection drugs, causing his body to attack the new lungs. Despite it being a hospital foul-up and having just three months to live, an NHS panel has refused him a second transplant. But within days a GoFundMe appeal had hit its £180,000 target so he can travel to Geneva and try for a transplant there.
Ben, a father of two, told the Daily Express: “I have Max, six, and Ivy, three. I don’t want this to be their last Christmas with their dad.
“When I had the transplant last year I was so happy. It was going to give me the new life I wanted. But the hospital’s mistake caused my body to attack my new lungs. Now it is irreversible and I have months to live.
“Even though the NHS admitted on record that they are culpable for my failing lungs, the board rejected my appeal for another transplant.
“I am bed bound, oxygen dependent and on palliative care, dying in front of my children.
“My wife Daisy is facing the reality of becoming a widow in her 30s and leaving Max and Ivy a whole lifetime to miss their father. We just want to be together.
“Going to Europe for a transplant is my only option. I am fighting for my life. I refuse to give up.
“A professor in Switzerland concluded she would see no problem in a second transplant. I will need to take up residency in Geneva in order to be added to their transplant list.”
Harefield Hospital said: “The decision to offer a lung transplant is made using nationally set criteria based on the patient’s current health.
“Mr Wolfenden unfortunately does not meet these criteria, which we understand is incredibly distressing for him and his family.”
Digital marketing agency boss Ben, of Bingley, West Yorkshire, was born with cystic fibrosis.
The Daily Express has campaigned for two years for NHS access to CF drugs from the US.
