'Team effort so vital with Ron's transplant'

2:13pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

RON'S heart transplant was organised by coordinators Cheryl Riotto and Helen Castle.

It is a massive undertaking and sister transplant coordinator Cheryl Riotto said she was working non-stop between the first call she got at about 6pm, telling Ron at 9.15pm, and into the night.

"It's very much the team aspect that is absolutely vital," she said.

Although Ron's heart might have lasted several more months the real problem, she said, is that once those on the donor list get too ill they are not fit to operate on.

The fluid that was building in Ron's body was of concern because, it meant Ron's condition was becoming very serious "The heart was failing and therefore the kidneys started to fail," said Cheryl.

"It meant he had got very little time left."

She said that at this stage the only option for Ron was a heart transplant.

"Unfortunately there are massive shortages of transplantable organs and there are people who don't get a heart transplant while they are on the waiting list.

"It's very difficult because they are often relatively young people, and unlike many conditions, there's not much you can do."

Ms Riotto said what is vital now for Ron's full recovery is physio work.

And after two days in intensive care Ron was transferred to a ward and taken to the gym.

Ms Riotto said: "The heart works very well straight away, but the rest of the body is different.

"People feel like they can run a marathon from a heart point of view, but their legs are like jelly.

"It's important to get them moving."

DESPITE having Ron's life in his hands surgeon John Dunning said he did not feel any pressure.

Mr Dunning, an adult cardio thoracic surgeon, has specialised in heart transplants since 1990.

He says Ron stands a good chance of living a practically normal life.

"There is virtually no physical activity that he could not take part in," he said.

"We see young people who have heart transplants who play sport afterwards and are able to compete with their own age group."

Although he acknowledged that Ron's previous heart surgery, where his breast bone was broken, made surgery more difficult, he said the four hour and 55 minute operation was without complication.

What was unusual about Ron's case was that it was done so late in the morning.

Normally the heart will become available in the early evening and an operation will be done in the early hours of the following morning.

This year the hospital has done half the numbers of heart transplants it did the year before.

Mr Dunning said this was partly due to rising standards of trauma care - but also a drop in donors.

"Unfortunately sometimes patients do die while they're waiting for a transplant because there are simply not enough donors or suitable donors for the numbers of patients we have on our waiting list," he said.

"We would encourage everyone to think seriously about registering to become an organ donor."

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