Transplant machine gives Barnsley patient a new lease of life

A Barnsley transplant patient has been given a new lease of life thanks to a machine that can keep a donated liver alive and healthier for longer.
Consultant surgeon, Barbara Fiore; Operating department practitioners, Helen O’Neill and Amanda Gibson-Mills; patient Gail Hill; consultant surgeon, Magdy Attia.Consultant surgeon, Barbara Fiore; Operating department practitioners, Helen O’Neill and Amanda Gibson-Mills; patient Gail Hill; consultant surgeon, Magdy Attia.
Consultant surgeon, Barbara Fiore; Operating department practitioners, Helen O’Neill and Amanda Gibson-Mills; patient Gail Hill; consultant surgeon, Magdy Attia.

Gail Hill benefitted from the new liver perfusion machine at St James’s Hospital in Leeds.

The machine, paid for through charity fundraising, offers surgeons more options than the current process of keeping a donated organ stored in an icebox. This new technology can potentially allow the team to perform up to 20 more liver transplants a year.

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Mental health nurse Gail, from Barnsley, had a liver transplant in December after suffering from polycystic liver disease for 17 years, a condition which caused her to have an enlarged liver and severe abdominal pain.

One of her sisters also has this genetic condition.

Doctors were able to hold the donated liver on the new perfusion machine for 14 hours without the organ deteriorating, and then carry out Mrs Hill’s transplant the following morning – something they would previously have been unable to do.

She said: “It has already given me a new lease of life. Over the past 17 years my condition restricted my quality of life and I stopped being the outgoing, bubbly Gail. I just feel so much better now.

“My liver was very large and it was pressing down on me so much and I was uncomfortable and constantly in pain. I would probably still be on the waiting list without this new machine.”

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Consultant transplant surgeon, Magdy Attia, said optimising donated livers and assessing their viability meant they could use more donated organs that might not have previously been suitable. Increasing the timescale of using the organs, and having them in better condition, meant procedures could be carried out more safely.

“The most important benefits of the new machine are helping us increase transplants by 15-20 more a year, reducing the number of people dying on the waiting list, and allowing patients to have a safer transplant,” said Mr Attia.

Leeds Cares managing director Andrew Cratchley said: “We’re incredibly grateful to our donors and supporters. The machine was only ordered in October so the fact that a patient has already undergone a life-saving operation using it is just fantastic.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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