Comments on information in the media concerning the external investigation of the Macchiarini case

Comments: Information in the media claims that the basic data for the external investigation of the so-called Macchiarini case at KI has disappeared or cannot be found. This information is also found in a newly published book by Harriet Wallberg and Kristina Appelqvist, När lögnen blir sanning (When the lie becomes truth).
KI comments on this information as follows.

The investigation was external and was led by Sten Heckscher. None of the external investigators were an employee at KI. Thus, KI had no obligation to archive material in the investigation. This is confirmed in a decision by the Ombudsman (JO) on 17 February 2017 (JO serial number 299/2017, KI serial number 2-1259/2017) in connection with a JO notification by Harriet Wallberg.

The information that the investigation material might have disappeared is not correct. All information that has been obtained from the KI archive is still available.

The background to the external investigation was a decision by the Konsistoriet (the university’s board) and it was commissioned in 2016 by the board members at the time. The report Karolinska Institutet and the Macchiarini case (in Swedish) was presented on 5 September 2016.

The investigators used information from KI's archives and records to review Karolinska Institutet's handling of the whole case – from the recruitment of Macchiarini in 2010 and onwards. This consisted of large quantities of decision records, e-mail messages etc. All the material that the investigators used in their work and which consists of public documents is archived at KI, but not collected under a single case heading.

The external inquiry was also based on information that the investigators developed through conversations with KI employees and other sources. If any documentation of these conversations had been submitted to KI, it would have been registered. No such documentation has been received.