Covid delays Bristol man's life-saving lung operation

Matt Lodge is is waiting for a second lung transplant

A man who requires a life-saving lung operation has been told there are no intensive care beds available due to the pandemic.

Matt Lodge, 30, from Bristol, has cystic fibrosis but following a lung transplant six years ago, his new lungs have begun to fail.

He was due to be treated in Birmingham but is waiting to find out whether he can be treated elsewhere.

University Hospitals Birmingham said it hoped to start surgeries again as soon.

During the pandemic, it treated 4,000 more Covid-19 patients than its nearest hospital trust which put pressure on the availability of some of its surgery programmes.

'High risk'

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition that causes the lungs to deteriorate.

Mr Lodge said: "I can't really do anything. My exercise tolerance is basically nothing.

"It's the sort of thing that you know is coming, but it's never easy when you hear it."

One in three cystic fibrosis patients who are on an organ transplant waiting list die before receiving an organ. Having a successful second lung transplant is rare.

BBC South West health correspondent: Matthew Hill

I was on call with Matt in 2016 to film him going to Birmingham for his transplant. He had three false starts before his final transplant.

I will never forget his dignified acceptance on his penultimate trip when he heard the lung was not a suitable match.

This time round the cards will be stacked more heavily against a successful transplant. Others who are having their first transplant will be prioritised.

Matt is going to have to call on his vast reserves of inner strength if he is to get through the wait this time.

Mr Lodge had a successful lung transplant operation in 2014

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham said they had approached other centres to see if they can take Mr Lodge on and provide treatment sooner. It is waiting for a response.

It is understood each hospital has its own criteria which must be met and Mr Lodge is yet to find a centre that will carry out the procedure.

"Recently they have offered me to go to other centres... so either centres in London or Manchester," Mr Lodge said.

"I have heard back from one centre in London so far, but unfortunately they won't accept me.

"I am quite a high risk case because having a second lung transplant is a lot more risky than the first one."

'Prioritise emergency surgery'

Dr Adnan Shariff, a leading transplant physician at the Transplant Society, said: "Heart, lung and, to a lesser degree, liver transplantation is still playing catch-up.

"For heart and lung transplants, the only transplants which are happening are super urgent ones for people who may already be in intensive care on life-sustaining devices".

NHS staff expect the transplant situation to return to normal as pressure on intensive care from Covid-19 eases.

A University Hospitals Birmingham spokesperson added: "We have continued to prioritise emergency surgery, urgent cancer surgery, and many urgent transplant cases, while also providing critical coronavirus care.

"Some surgical non-urgent programmes had to be paused, including the routine lung transplant programme, but we are doing everything we possibly can to ensure these surgeries can now take place at the earliest opportunity, prioritising patients by their clinical need."