Patients, aged one to 12, among eight children whose transplants failed Concerns arose in 2013 after operation on fundraiser Sophie Palmer, 12 Hospital says Katie Joyce, 4, could have been saved if quicker action taken Lawyers have also accused hospital of taking too long to stop transplants Doctors 'regret' not stopping sooner but decision seemed right at time Ryan Loughran, 13 months, and Muhanna al-Hayany, 4, also died last year Seventeen months on, investigations are still ongoing into exact cause

By Steph Cockroft for MailOnline

Published: 06:45 EST, 22 November 2014 | Updated: 12:57 EST, 22 November 2014

Four cancer-stricken children died at Great Ormond Street Hospital after a series of failures in stem cell transplants at the world-renowned hospital, an inquest has heard.

The young patients, aged between one and 12, were among eight children whose transplants failed when the stem cell freezing system - used in life-saving operations - inexplicably stopped working.

Four children went on to recover. But well-known charity fundraiser Sophie Ryan Palmer, 12, one-year-old Ryan Loughran, four-year-old Katie Joyce and Muhanna al-Hayany, also four, died between July and October last year.

Katie Joyce (left) and Sophie Ryan (right) were among two of the four young patients who died after a series of failures in stem cell transplants at Great Ormond Street Hospital

The children's hospital has now admitted that Katie might have survived if it had acted more quickly to resolve the problems.

Lawyers for two of the families have also accused Great Ormond Street of taking too long to stop the transplants once concerns arose.

At an inquest into the deaths this week, the court heard that doctors were initially dumbfounded as to why the procedures suddenly started failing after a decade of success, the Guardian reports.

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Four children dead at Great Ormond Street after stem cell transplant failure