New liver for shock jock who avoided jail

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Had it not been for his cancer-riddled liver, radio shock jock Derryn Hinch would be in prison.

But doctors struggled to locate the New Zealand-born broadcaster when a healthy donor organ suddenly became available on Tuesday afternoon.

After several frantic hours of trying to find the man who calls himself the "Human Headline", they finally tracked him down in the pub.

The 67-year-old was sipping soft drinks at the leaving party for a young colleague who was heading overseas.

Before the call from the Liver Transplant Unit at Melbourne's Austin Hospital, the outlook for Hinch was far less bright.

He had been told the cancer would soon be inoperable and he might not live to see next year.

Also hanging over the Radio 3AW talkback host was a criminal conviction for publicly naming two sex offenders whose identities were protected by court order.

Last month a magistrate told Hinch that only his ill-health - and the need to be available for surgery within 90 minutes - had spared him from jail.

Yesterday, after a successful five-hour transplant operation, he told his senior producer Shannon Reid that he was a "happy and grateful man".

He tweeted: "In intensive care at the Austin. Feeling fantastic. Massive gratitude to the donor family. Thanks to the nurses. Will tweet again when can."

Born in New Plymouth, Hinch worked as a reporter at the Taranaki Herald before leaving for Australia in 1963 at the age of 19.

Always outspoken and polarising, he made his name as one of the country's most popular and controversial radio hosts.

Hinch had been due to return to court in less than two weeks, when he was expected to be sentenced to home detention.

That sentence is now likely to be postponed as he recovers in hospital.

Transplant unit director Professor Bob Jones said Hinch's body could reject the new organ in the coming weeks. There was also a small risk the cancer would return.

"If that doesn't [happen] we'd be very optimistic he's going to do very, very well long-term," he said.

Jones described Hinch's old liver as hard, lumpy, bigger than normal and "pretty ugly".

"He has been on our list for many months and the cancer was not far from getting out of control," he said.

The operation was filmed by a crew from 60 Minutes, which is preparing a story on Hinch's cancer battle.