Coronavirus: Kidney transplant patients 'in limbo'

A father-of-two waiting for a life-changing kidney transplant has said he has been left "in limbo" due to coronavirus.

Shaun Ruck, 34, from Tonyrefail, Rhondda Cynon Taff, has been waiting four years for a kidney and needs dialysis three times a week.

But with Wales' only transplant centre temporarily closed, he will not be contacted if a match is found.

The Welsh Government said plans to re-open the unit were being considered.

At the start of this year there were 201 patients waiting for a kidney transplant in Wales - accounting for 80% of all patients waiting for an organ transplant.

But at the start of the coronavirus lockdown transplant units were closed due to fears about patients with low immune systems being at risk of the virus.

• Six kidney transplants in 30 hours at Cardiff's UHW

While eight units in England and one in Scotland have since re-opened, 15 remain closed including the only one in Wales - at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW), Cardiff.

The Kidney Wales charity said people could die if the unit did not reopen on a "case-by-case basis" as they would not be offered a match if it was found.

But the Welsh Government said "urgent transplants" were still taking place, and plans were being reviewed on how to re-open the Cardiff unit while keeping patients safe.

Shaun said he tried to show his children they could do anything they wanted to even when times are hard

Every week Shuan Ruck juggles work and spending time with his children, to spend hours attached to a dialysis machine at UHW.

Born with dysplastic kidneys, meaning they did not form properly, he has had two previous transplants, but his body eventually rejected them.

The charity worker has now been waiting for another kidney match for four years and needs dialysis every other day.

"I knew when my [second] transplant failed that I had more chances of winning the lottery than having a third," said Shaun.

"To have the call that there was a matching kidney for me would 100% give me my life back," he said.

Shaun said he found dialysis hard and it took hours every other day

The 34-year-old had been on a trial to suppress his immune system further so his body was less likely to reject another organ - but just as it ended the transplant units were closed.

With the Cardiff unit closed even if a match was found, Shaun would not be offered the organ, as it would go instead to a patient in one of the units which has re-opened.

"I haven't left the house other than for my treatments," he said.

"The only outside world I see is my car and then the dialysis unit.

"To have the call from the hospital would mean the world."

Patients in Wales get sent to clinics in Cardiff or Liverpool - but both are still closed

Transplant units were closed because of concerns patients are particularly vulnerable to infection during the pandemic.

While the NHS Blood and Transplant service issued guidelines at the end of April about how units could start planning to re-open, it added any such move would be a local decision.

Judith Stone from Kidney Wales said some patients may die if they do not have a transplant.

"We would like to see the kidney transplant programme re-open for surgery on a case by case basis as soon as possible for individuals where the benefits out weigh the risk factors," she said.

The Welsh Government said urgent transplants have still been taking place

The Welsh Government said "urgent transplants for imminently life-threatening conditions" had been continuing during the pandemic.

"Kidney transplants at UHW in Cardiff have been suspended and they are currently considering how they can resume activity safely," a spokesman said.

"Transplant teams need to balance the patient's need for transplant against the additional challenges of being immuno-suppressed at this time."

The Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC), which commissions the transplant service on behalf of the Welsh Government, said it was currently considering "detailed plans" to safely resume the service.

"Central to this planning process is recognition that the Covid-19 virus remains in circulation and that renal and transplant patients are extremely vulnerable and therefore recommended to 'shield'."