Transplant patient breaks survival record

Katie Mitchell received a rare heart-lung transplant nearly 40 years ago

A woman is believed to have become the longest-living patient in the UK to have had a combined heart and lung transplant.

Katie Mitchell, from Sidcup in south-east London, underwent the operation 38 years ago, aged 15, after being diagnosed with a rare condition called Eisenmenger syndrome.

Katie said the transplant anniversary had turned her thoughts to her donor: "I just know she was a young female. Her family made that decision at a terrible time in their lives. I am so grateful."

Anthony Clarkson, from the NHS Blood and Transplant service, described Katie's procedure as "rare and complex" and said her story showed how vital organ donation was.

Katie during her school days, and before her transplant - her lips blue from poor circulation

Katie was was diagnosed with Eisenmenger syndrome, a complication associated with congenital heart disease, at the age of 11.

She had high blood pressure in her pulmonary arteries, causing an increased resistance to blood flow through the lungs. This led to irreversible lung damage and heart failure.

At the time she was diagnosed, there was no treatment.

Before her transplant, Katie remembers being so ill she could barely climb the stairs, and that her lips, cheeks and nails were blue due to the lack of oxygen in her body.

"I just couldn't breathe. It took me about 15 minutes to get up or down the stairs and then that was me for the day, I would stay there," she said.

"The moment I came around from the transplant, I was pink – that's what everybody noticed. The improvement in breathing was immediate."

Katie shaking hands with Princess Diana at the Royal Papworth Hospital in 1988, a year after her life-saving procedure

Katie had her transplant at the Royal Papworth Hospital in September 1987.

NHS Blood and Transplant said the heart-lung transplant remained an extremely rare and complex procedure, even nearly 40 years later, with only about five performed in the UK each year.

Katie said: "It's quite difficult to put into words how it feels to know I am now the longest-lived heart-lung recipient in the UK. It's mixed feelings. People I know who had the same transplant have passed away in front of me."

Katie said she thought about her donor a lot, especially on the anniversary of the transplant.

"I think about their family and what their family must have felt at the time," she said. "Thanks to organ donation, I was given the gift of a normal life."

Consultant transplant surgeon Aaron Ranasinghe said: "This is a big operation and the early survival from the operation is around 85%.

"Once patients have survived for one year, just over a half will be alive at 10 to 12 years, so for Katie to have reached this milestone is fantastic."

'Truly exceptional story'

Across the UK, 12 people are currently waiting for a heart-lung transplant. Overall, there are more than 8,000 people on the transplant waiting list.

In the past decade more than 800 people in London have lost their lives while waiting for an organ transplant, according to recent figures.

Mr Clarkson said: "Katie's truly exceptional story shows how organ donation saves and improves lives.

"Most of us would accept an organ if we needed one but there are not enough donors."

He added: "If you confirm your decision to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register, that two minutes can save up to nine lives."