A South Australian state MP has told parliament's Upper House that a disputed mental health report effectively denied late bakery owner Vili Milisits a lung transplant.
The owner of the popular Vili's bakery died in March at the age of 72.
SA Best MP Frank Pangallo said Mr Milisits was rated as an excellent candidate for the operation by the Royal Adelaide Hospital's lung transplant service until a neuropsychological assessment detailed signs of Alzheimer's disease and an abnormally low IQ.
It meant he would not be accepted for a lung transplant at Melbourne's Alfred Hospital.
A range of medical specialists would later disagree with the assessment.
Mr Pangallo said Mr Milisits lost vital months before finally having a lung transplant in Sydney.
"While the lung transplant itself was a success, Vili succumbed to complications arising from his already frail state," Mr Pangallo told parliament on Wednesday.
"Things may have turned out much differently had Vili been given the chance much earlier, as was hoped."
He said the later operation meant the chance of success was "risky and low".
He said Mr Milisits was "sharp as a razor" in the lead-up to his death, rather than an "imbecile", as the IQ test suggested.
A state memorial service was held for Mr Milisits last week.
His family moved to Australia as refugees in 1956, escaping political unrest in Hungary.
He left school aged 14 to work at a cake shop in Burnside, before starting his own venture on Manchester Street in Mile End South, where the original Cafe de Vili's is now.
The company now exports pies and other baked goods to countries around the world.
Both he and his wife Rosemary, of Unley Park, were awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2005 for their contribution to charity.