Medical marvels happen at Princess Alexandra Hospital every day, but it was the miracle of liver transplant that brought clinicians, transplant recipients, and families together this week to celebrate 40 years since Australia’s first successful liver transplant at PAH.
What a reunion! Liver transplant recipients from across the 40 years and their families converged on the hospital which was made even more special by having hundreds of clinicians from the current and early days of the specialty there for the celebrations.
The Australian groundbreaking surgery in January 1985 led to Australia’s first child liver transplant in 1985, and then the world-first procedure for splitting adult livers to benefit children which embedded PA Hospital’s name in international medical history.
Held during DonateLife week (27 July – 3 August 2025), the reunion celebration acknowledged the generous gift of life made possible through organ donation.
Meet Australia’s longest surviving and world-first liver recipients:
Rhonda Natera – Australia's first child liver recipient
There was no organ transplant wait list when doctors discovered six-week-old Rhonda Natera was dying from liver disease.
With their 2yo daughter clinging to life, the family moved from Papua New Guinea to be closer to Princess Alexandra Hospital’s pioneering liver transplant team. “So, I was going to be a guinea pig basically,” said Rhonda, now 42 and living in Springfield Lakes in Brisbane – looking back over 40 years.
Rhonda’s life-saving Australian-first transplant was done in that momentous first year but she is not Australia’s longest-living liver recipients after receiving a second liver transplant alongside a kidney at the age of 27.
Eileen McDougall & Jilly Russell - Australia’s longest-living liver recipients
No-one is more astonished than Eileen and Jilly themselves to have outlived all expectations and become Australia’s longest-surviving, single liver transplant recipients.
At 83 years old, Eileen (pictured LHS) is approaching her 39th liver anniversary this year alongside fellow liver recipient Jilly Russell, 70yo (RHS) who holds the honour of being the longest living, single liver transplant in Australia. Jilly lives in WA and has provided a video of thanks for the 40 years of liver transplants celebration. Eileen, who still lives in Brisbane said: “I was told I had 50% chance of dying on the operating table – and I’m still here.”
Warwick - Living every adventure, 36 years post transplant
Every day is a new adventure. Just ask Warwick Duncan who has instilled the spirit of living life-to-the-full into his family for a very special reason. The father of four celebrates the anniversary of his now 36-year-old liver transplant every year by trying or doing something adventurous. Exploits have so far included parachuting, parasailing, swimming with dolphins/seals, hot-air ballooning, transplant games, hiking the gruelling Kokoda Track with his sons, as well as ascending Mount Kilimanjaro and to Mount Everest Base Camp (2018).
With retirement around the corner there are no plans to slow down. Mr Duncan intends to cycle over 1500 kilometres from the Gulf of Carpentaria to Port Augusta in SA next year.
Iichurou Tsuruyama – World first living liver transplant
Doctors Strong, Ong and Lynch were involved in performing the historic world’s first successful living related liver transplant surgery in 1989 (mother to son).
Young Iichurou and his 29-year-old mother had travelled from Japan when he was just 17 months old. Now 35 years after his transplant, both Iichurou and his mother are doing well. He graduated from university as a physiotherapist 20 years after his transplant and made the journey to Australia to be part of the reunion with other transplant recipients.
Janika Simon – Medical mercy dash saves Hungarian baby’s life
Hungarian liver transplant baby Janika Simon spent most of his first two years of life in Brisbane, following a 13,000km medical mercy dash in 1987 when he was born without a bile duct.
Janika, 13-months-old and weighing only 5kgs, would have died without a liver transplant performed under the care of Brisbane surgeons. It was world-wide media coverage on the world’s-first living donorliver transplant that inspired this response from Janika’s family to move to Brisbane. He recovered extremely quickly and returned home with his family as a 2-year-old, where he has essentially been able to grow up and live a perfectly normal life.
Janica has never forgotten the generosity of his donor and hero surgeons, nor the many Australians who supported a public appeal to help pay costs for his life-saving surgery. Janica graduated from the University of Budapest, studying English and Maths and has a passion for dance.