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At least six Australians needed organ transplants in the past five years after taking herbal supplements.
Data obtained from national organ donation registries shows, since 2011, three liver transplants and three kidney transplants have been given to people who got sick after taking some kind of herbal supplement.
It comes after West Australian man Matthew Whitby spoke to the ABC after losing his liver — most likely as a result of taking a protein powder with green tea extract and a supplement containing garcinia cambogia.
Registry representatives have told the ABC the figures only relate to cases where doctors were able to identify, and actually documented, the probable cause of the illnesses that led to the transplant.
The data does not indicate what kind of herbal supplement caused the organ failure or whether it was a definitive cause.
Liver transplant specialist Dr Nick Shackel from Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital said he had dealt with multiple cases of liver failure and transplants associated with herbal supplements.
In many cases, the patients had consumed green tea extract.
“There are compounds in green tea which if taken in excess give you predictable liver failure,” he said.