Harefield Hospital leads in long term survival rates for lung transplant patients

Harefield Hospital’s transplant service is celebrating a significant successful milestone following publication of a new national report about long term survival rates.

In a new report prepared for an NHS Blood and Transplant advisory committee, Harefield has come out on top in terms of long term survival rates for those who have had lung transplants.

The report shows that, of the five adult lung NHS transplant centres in the UK:

• Harefield had the greatest proportion of patients surviving, on average, five years or more after their transplants;
• Half of Harefield’s transplant recipients who survived their first year post-transplant are still alive 10 years post-transplant – one and a half years longer than the national average;
• Half of Harefield’s transplant recipients are alive 8.4 years after their transplant, compared to a national average of 6.5 years.

Harefield transplant consultant, Vicky Gerovasili, said she was delighted with the results as they showed that her team’s aggressive management of any post-transplant complications had made a real impact.

“Having an organ transplant is really one of the most significant operations anyone can have, and so long term survival rates after a transplant – that is, survival beyond five years – are a very important measure of success. And of course every year of survival is a meaningful milestone for our patients,” said Vicky.

The hospital’s transplant service has also just relaunched its Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP) programme, which Harefield first started providing more than ten years ago.

EVLP involves placing donated lungs in a machine to perfuse (circulate with fluid) and ventilate (inflate and deflate) them outside the body. This means donor lungs can be better assessed for potential transplantation, and can have their function improved if they are initially considered marginal or damaged, making them suitable for transplantation. This therefore also increases the overall pool of potential donor lungs.

Patient Ashley Moore (pictured), who received an EVLP double lung transplant nearly ten years ago at Harefield, said it was impossible to overstate how much it has meant to her.

“In day to day life, I’m capable of doing things that were hard before,” said Ashley. “I’ve watched my son grow into a fantastic kid and will see him go to secondary school next year on a drama scholarship. My husband and I have our 20th wedding anniversary this month. I have been skiing, snowmobiling and scuba diving – I never thought I’d be able to do this! It’s wonderful to be able to plan ahead in the belief that I have a future ahead of me.” 

Harefield last year celebrated the extraordinary success of Bert Janssen, who had his heart transplant in 1984 and, 40 years later, was recognised as one of the longest surviving heart transplant recipients in the world by the Guinness Book of Records.