Breathing new life into lung transplants
GENEROUS financial contributions from communal stalwarts Charlotte and Ervin Vidor have helped enable a groundbreaking project whereby the St Vincent’s Hospital Heart/Lung Transplant Unit recently performed Australia’s first double lung transplant using damaged lungs.
The hospital has established the St Vincent’s Heart and Lung Innovation Fund, to which the Vidors have committed $1 million, to enable translational cardiothoracic research and the trial of new surgical and interventional techniques like this to advance treatments for all Australians.
The procedure involved a 27-year-old cystic fibrosis patient receiving lungs that previously would have been regarded as too damaged to transplant. However, through the use of the hospital’s new Organ Care System, the damaged lungs were able to be oxygenated and ventilated – rather than the traditional method of placing the lungs on ice.
By using the new “Lungs in a Box” method of retrieval, doctors were able to evaluate the suitability of the lungs for transplantation and administer medication to the organs to help them recover from the damage prior to being transplanted. The pioneering technique is projected to significantly increase the number of lung transplants.
Associate Professor Marshall Plit, deputy director of lung transplantation at St Vincent’s Hospital, noted that with the significant organ shortages in Australia, this new technique will have an “incredible impact” on the number of lives saved.
“Because of the trailblazing nature of this work, the bulk of these endeavours are not currently part of any funding arrangement, so our reliance on the generosity of philanthropists like Charlotte and Ervin Vidor to support this work is pivotal,” he said.
“The ‘Lungs in a Box’ is an incredible new piece of technology and it is an honour to know that we are helping to transform how patients with end-stage lung disease are being treated at St Vincent’s,” Ervin said.
Charlotte added, “It’s really a very worthwhile cause and obviously, like any other institution, they need funds to be able to advance the research.”
To support the fund, visit www.supportstvincents.com.au.
PHOEBE ROTH
Ervin (left) and Charlotte Vidor have supported an Australian-first in lung transplantation.
comments