12th June 2020
Belfast Trust is proud to announce the first successful paediatric living donor transplant since the Covid-19 surge in the UK or Ireland.
Inspired by the successful work undertaken by our adult Renal and Nephrology service increasing deceased donor transplants during Covid-19, the paediatric team are incredibly proud to have reached this stage. Living donor transplants were stood down during the Covid-19 surge.
Due to the pandemic, the Trust took steps to make sure we could proceed safely to protect our patients and staff. The efforts of the public to socially distance, stay at home and reduce the strain on the health service were vital to ensuring we had to capacity to deliver this service for patients who needed it the most.
As the donor was an adult this achievement is a result of collaboration between our paediatric team and those in the adult service at Belfast City Hospital, ensuring a smooth process.
Dr Mairead Convery, Consultant Paediatric Nephrologist said, “We are absolutely delighted to be the first centre in the UK or Ireland to be able to perform a living donor transplant. There were many tiers we had to go through to get this arranged as we had to take careful consideration of the risks and benefits to the patients and their donors who are giving the most amazing gift that could ever be given, especially to a child.”
“Many children on the transplant list need dialysis on a daily basis and this places a huge burden on them and their families. It was very important to work on this to benefit the families and improve the quality of live for the children we care for. It is great to say we in Northern Ireland were the first to take this huge step.”
We would like to thank everyone involved in helping us deliver this important milestone. We appreciate the efforts of our staff in bringing this collaborative work together in the best interests of our patients during such an uncertain time. Most importantly, we would like to thank our patient, their family and the donor for their courage and co-operation throughout the process.