The 24 hour marathon for Emma’s liver and kidney
The gift of life offered by her untimely death 21 year old Emma put the staff of the Transplant Surgery Clinic of the AUTH in the “Ippokrateio” hospital of Thessaloniki on alert. In a marathon, which started in the midnight hours of Monday and ended after midnight on Tuesday, the specialized scientific team succeeded in receiving, safely transporting, preserving and transplanting the liver and one kidney of the unfortunate girl. In consecutive long-hour operations, the organs were successfully transplanted into a 64-year-old man from Grevena and a 50-year-old woman from Thessaloniki, with the doctors being optimistic about the outcome of their health.
The associate professor of Transplantation Surgery at AUTH, Nikos Antoniadis (photo), describes in iatronet.gr the long process. He talks about the need to support transplants in Greece, about the problems that remain regarding the lack of critical specialties, while emphasizing that the 21-year-old and her parents gave a message of life with their brave decision to emit light through the darkness of a tragedy.
The “relay” of life
On the 3rd night from Monday to Tuesday, a group of executives from the “Hippocrateus” Transplantation Clinic went to the Papageorgiou hospital for the special procedure of receiving, preserving and transporting the organs. By the time the liver arrived at Hippocrates, surgery had already begun on the recipient so that no time was lost. “There must be the shortest possible ischemia time, since the organ remains out of circulation. A transplant is always a race against time,” explains the professor.
The Recipient of the organ is a 64-year-old man from Grevena, who suffered from both liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer, which had not responded to treatment. His survival was a matter of a few months. Despite the significant age difference with the donor, there was a real need for her to be prioritized. The process started at about 11 am and ended at 9 pm. “The liver transplant is a complex operation. From the moment he went up to the operating room until he went to the ICU, it took 10 hours” – says Mr. Antoniadis – and he expressed his optimism about the outcome, also due to the quality of the young transplant.
Soon after, the operation to transplant one of Emma’s kidneys began. Liptria is a 50-year-old kidney patient from Thessaloniki, undergoing hemodialysis for ten years at the same hospital, which was actually the second time she underwent a transplant, as she had rejected the first message years ago. The unit lasted about 4 hours and was also successful, and as of Wednesday morning he is out of intensive care and is being treated in a simple ward.
The waiting lists
As Mr. Antoniadis explains, kidney transplants are done on the basis of a single national list, with priority through scoring. In this context, the two kidneys of the unfortunate student were transferred to “Ippokrateio” in Thessaloniki and “Laiko” in Athens, respectively. On the contrary, in the liver there are two lists. Deputy Minister Minas Gaga’s announcement last summer for a national list in the liver as well did not go ahead. “The inclusion, follow-up and selection of patients is complex, and the times are different. In Europe, there are no national lists. For the liver. A patient cannot be monitored by us and transform in Athens”, he clarified.
About 40 to 50 patients are currently on the waiting list for a liver transplant, which is constantly updated. “A liver transplant is a good life. Without it, unfortunately, the patient has no expectation of survival,” notes the associate professor and adds: “A kidney transplant may not have a direct impact on the patient’s survival, but it has a great impact on the quality of life. and life expectancy, but also a significant economic benefit for the health system. But, unfortunately, not even 10% of the needs in Greece are served.”
According to “Hippocratius” data, ten transplants (five liver and five kidney) have been performed in the month of November alone.
“Breathe” with anesthesiologists
The movement of anesthesiologists from other hospitals and from the private sector gives a temporary “breather” to the acute problem of lack of this specialty in “Hippocrateus”, which emerged in a dramatic way in the summer with the cancellation of scheduled liver transplant.
“The problems exist. there are some interventions by the ministry that cover some needs, but they are temporary solutions”, says Mr. Antoniadis. The Transplant Clinic employs two anesthesiologists, specialized in transplants, who are trying to respond.
Light through tragedy
“The decision of the girl’s parents at the most difficult moment showed them the bright side of life through a tragedy”, emphasizes the associate professor, referring to the brave organ donation of 21-year-old Emma and added: “We understand it, we honor it and we try to doing. we are doing our best to use these grafts and get people who need them alive.”
He requests systematic and practical support from the Ministry of Health in the field of transplants, while emphasizing the need for further initiatives to spread organ donation.