Prague, November 3, 2022 – On Sunday, October 23, 2022, an absolutely extraordinary event occurred at the Motol General Hospital, when all the transplant teams operating there were on standby (the heart transplant program for children, the National Kidney Transplant Program for children and the National Transplant Program lungs for children and adults). In one day, three transplants took place here at the same time.
The vast majority of transplants take place in FN Motol in isolation, mainly because two exclusively children's programs carry out only a few transplants per year, and when selecting a suitable recipient, emphasis is placed on the most appropriate and high-quality organ from a deceased donor.
However, the situation that occurred at the FN Motol at the end of October was completely unique. She very thoroughly checked the functionality of the Transplantation Coordination Center, the National Organ and Tissue Procurement Program and the Motol Department of Transplantation and Tissue Bank. "Until now, it has never happened in our hospital that all three of our programs coincided and all the collection and transplantation teams were involved at one point," says MUDr. Jan Burkert, Ph.D., head of the Department of Transplantation and Tissue Bank of the Motol Hospital, transplant surgeon of the National Program of Kidney Transplantation in Children and the National Program of Lung Transplantation.
"In total, more than 80 people were involved in all three transplants, so it was the largest event of this kind in our hospital so far. The ability to perform these transplants is, of course, another success for all transplant centers in the country and for the National Organ and Tissue Donation Program as such," adds Prime Minister Jan Burkert.
Although the transplant itself is never a simple operation, another unique thing was that these were three truly extremely complicated patients. Lung transplantation was performed in an almost 30-year-old patient connected to extracorporeal circulation (ECMO – ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) for a long time, which in itself brings a lot of technical adjustments and significantly negatively affects the successful outcome. Kidney transplantation, in a 10-year-old boy, was already the second reoperation in the field of previous urological operations for a congenital defect of the urinary tract. During the transplant, the boy's own kidney had to be removed, which is not normally done in this procedure. The heart transplant was the seventh operation in a row for a 14-year-old girl with one of the most serious congenital heart defects, the so-called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The left ventricle is not developed and only one ventricle must provide all the circulation.
All the transplanted patients are in very good condition today, the 11th day after the transplant, all the organs are functioning as they should, and thanks to this we are experiencing at least a little pleasant feeling of satisfaction in today's difficult times.
Three transplant programs operate very successfully at the Faculty Hospital in Motola, two of which are at the national level, i.e. they cover patients from the entire Czech Republic. This is the hospital's oldest transplant program - the National Children's Kidney Transplant Program, which celebrated 40 years of existence last year and a total of 322 children were transplanted during this time, the National Lung Transplant Program for Children and Adults has transplanted 1997 patients since 586, and the transplant program heart in children, which has enabled 2014 pediatric patients to be transplanted since its inception in 30.
Female patient, 14 years old
A patient with the basic diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome, i.e. with a congenital heart defect in which the left heart does not develop and the patient's entire circulation is ensured by only one heart chamber. The patient had undergone repeated heart operations, and the heart transplant itself was her seventh operation. In addition, she also underwent a number of catheterization and endovascular procedures throughout her life. Her post-transplant course has been without complications so far, she is disconnected from the ventilator and the new heart is working as it should.
Female patient, 29 years old
Patient with COPD – chronic obstructive bronchopulmonary disease and pulmonary emphysema. The patient, already connected to peripheral veno-venous ECMO for a long time before the transplant, underwent bilateral lung transplantation using conventional extracorporeal circulation, which was already canceled, and now the new lungs are functioning well.
Patient, 10 years old
A patient with a congenital defect of the urinary tract and a congenital defect in the area of the anus, who had already undergone two urological operations, an anus operation and several kidney inflammations before the transplant. The post-transplant course has been uncomplicated so far and the new kidney is working perfectly.
Media Contact:
Pavlína Danková, phone: 724 227 503, e-mail: pavlina.dankova@fnmotol.cz
Photos are for illustrative purposes only.
The press release can be downloaded here: A unique transplant day at Motol Medical Center. They transplanted three teams at once (465 kB)