I am a consultant physician in the Liver unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham where I have worked for nearly 20 years. I am about to take up the post of Associate Medical director for Organ Donation and Transplantation.
I first became involved when I worked at Kings College Hospital 30 years ago and became involved in the pioneering programme of liver transplantation, run jointly with Addenbrookes Hospital. Then, the transplant procedure was a major undertaking and results were poor; over the years, with advances in surgical techniques, anaesthesia and immunosuppression, the procedure is almost routine. I have stayed in this field, with huge enjoyment, seeing not only the progress made but, most importantly, working with the recipients over the years. Why then move? There remain many obstacles to be overcome: one of the greatest problems facing transplantation is the shortage of organs and ensuring the best way of allocating the scarce, life-saving resource. The government has put in greatly increased resources to address the organ shortage and this should provide a great opportunity to help increase organ donation.
