Introduction: The Alfred Hospital (AH), in collaboration with the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne, has hosted the National pLTx program since 2011. Prior to this, pLTx were performed infrequently at both RCH and AH.
Objectives: To review the activity and challenges of pLTx within Australia.
Method: Data was included from all Alfred pLTx recipients aged ≤18years at time of transplant. pLTx transplant matching, surgery and recovery out to 3 months was all undertaken at Alfred. Interstate patients then return home and Victorian recipients continue to be followed at the Alfred for life. Some older adolescent patients are sporadically transplanted at interstate adult centers if clinically appropriate.
Results: Between 1996 and 2019 54 pLTx have been performed, 36 of those females, mean age 13.5 (range 5-18), mean weight 38kg (range16-70kg). There were 6 heart-lung transplants and 48 bilateral lung transplants. 6 of these transplants were from ECMO. Mean waiting time was 142.8 days (range 0-777), with a 5.5% waitlist mortality. Mean donor age was 26.2 (range 3-67), 9 of these were DCD.
Conclusion: The National AH pLTx Service provides timely access to pLTx for all Australian children, with outcomes comparable to international benchmarks.