Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) proudly commemorated 40 years of the Queensland Liver Transplant Service with a momentous ceremony held during DonateLife Week.
The celebration was graced by Governor of Queensland, Her Excellency the Honourable Doctor Jeannette Young AC PSM, alongside special guest Professor Russell Strong whose significant legacy in liver transplantation has forever shaped the course of the specialty internationally.
The pioneering efforts of the team were instrumental in establishing PAH as Australia’s first site to successfully perform a liver transplant on 30 January 1985; the first child liver transplant in March 1985, and developing the Brisbane Technique for splitting adult livers to benefit children which has embedded the hospital’s name in the annals of medical history.
Liver transplants have been performed at the PAH since 1985, establishing the hospital as home to the Queensland Liver Transplant Service alongside a partnership with the Queensland Children’s Hospital (formerly Royal Children’s Hospital).
The event was included as a highlight on the DonateLife Queensland calendar of events to draw attention to the invaluable gift of life through the decision to donate organs for transplant.
Liver transplant recipients attended from across the east coast (and Japan!) as testament to the enduring human spirit, a tribute to their donors, and acknowledge the shared commitment to saving lives.
Medical Director of Division of Surgery at PAH and host of the event, Dr Juanita Muller said celebrating the milestone during DonateLIfe Week was a special homage to every organ donor who had made the gift of life possible.
“We are here today to remember the brave beginnings of transplant, where it has come from, recognise the lives it has touched, and to celebrate with all of you that have been part of the history - and everybody else who is, and will be, advancing liver transplant into the future.
“This room is filled with centuries of experience, and we would like to thank you for your dedication to our patients and always striving for clinical excellence,” she said.
“It is your leadership, teamwork and experience over many years that has grown the QLTS and it serves as an important part of our identity as the Division of Surgery, and the international identity of PA Hospital.”
Professor Strong’s stirring historical reflective resonated with many who remember well the challenges of the early introduction of the service and celebrated the stories of many of those liver transplant recipients spanning Australia, Japan, and Hungary who continue to inspire the legacy of excellence and compassion in transplantation.
Current Director of the Queensland Liver Transplant Service, Dr Peter Hodgkinson highlighted technology as a key contributor to PA’s expansion of the number of useable donor livers for transplant including warm and cold perfusion of donor livers and the Australian-leading work with normothermic machine perfusion of marginal donor livers.
“In the past 40 years we’ve transplanted 1768 patients. Our results are as good, or better than anywhere else in the world. In the last three years, if you’ve had a transplant here in Brisbane as an adult, your chance of being alive one year after the transplant is better than 95 per cent and at the Queensland Children’s Hospital it’s better than 97 per cent,” Dr Hodgkinson said.
“Last year we were awarded a grant from the Queensland Technology Futures Fund and we’ve bought a new machine which expands the number of donor livers we can use. We remain at the forefront of the advancement of liver transplant and with new technology we’re offering transplant to more and more people right as we speak.”
As the service looks to the future, it remains steadfast in its mission to deliver world-class care, innovate in transplant medicine both nationally and internationally, and honour the gift of life.
If you missed the event, you can view it HERE.