Cardiopulmonary (Heart and Lungs)

Our Cardiopulmonary Transplant Service is one of the most experienced centres in the world and is widely regarded as providing the UK’s premier lung transplant service with outstanding clinical outcomes that exceed international standards.

Our experts pioneered the development of double lung and non-heart beating lung transplant surgery nationally and over the last 3 years they have performed more cardiopulmonary transplants than anywhere else in the UK.

Our clinicians are also foremost in the field of heart assisted devices for both adults and children and we are able to discharge patients with a VAD (ventricular assisted device) due to our unique VAD at home service, enabling them to go home rather than stay in hospital to await the availability of a donor heart.

Comparison with The International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation survival data shows Newcastle’s superior survival rates.

Liver, Kidney and Pancreas

We have carried out in excess of 600 liver transplants, over 1,200 kidney transplants and more than 60 pancreas transplants since our transplantation services commenced in the mid 1960s.

Our hepatology and nephrology experts have a wealth of experience in the management of all stages of liver and kidney related diseases and patients with end-stage organ disease or failure can be reassured that the Freeman has outstanding clinical outcomes which are some of the best in the world.

Our live donor kidney programme was enhanced in 2002 when we became one of the first centres in the UK to introduce laparoscopic live donor kidney transplantation reducing associated risks to the donor and postoperative recovery time.

Clinical standards in the UK for solid organ transplantation are exceptionally high and clinical outcomes in Newcastle reflect this, with our 90 day mortality rate for both elective and urgent liver transplant cases being better than most of our peers.

The Freeman Hospital transplant team has a unique interest in developing combined liver and kidney transplantation for the treatment of Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome and our leading transplant surgeons are currently developing a live related liver transplant programme which is anticipated to commence within the first 6 months of 2009.

We were a pioneering centre in establishing Non Heart Beating Organ Transplantation and led the way in ensuring that the practice became routine throughout the UK.

The Freeman Hospital established the National Pancreatic Islet Transplant Network and successfully carried out the first ‘transported islet cell transplant’ in the UK.