Cape Town - In a landmark 200th kidney transplant for UCT Private Academic Hospital, a father has given his son another chance at life by stepping up to the plate as his donor.
Kevin Vicars, 34, underwent his second transplant in April after he was born with renal complications, which – according to his doctor at the time – were incurable and meant he likely had just weeks to live.
Vicars underwent his first kidney transplant at the age of eight years old.
“The very first time I was ever hospitalised was when I had my first transplant at the age of eight after my health took a downturn the year before.
“That transplant gave me an additional 25 years, which is far longer than expected, with a deceased donor kidney.
“This allowed me to live a full, active life, so much so that I represented South Africa in the 2007 World Transplant Games in Bangkok, where I won a gold medal for squash – in part due to training hard but also thanks to the support of my parents, Professor Mignon McCulloch who saw me through my first transplant and my nephrologist Dr Piers Stead who continue to play a huge role in my journey,” Vicars said.
Professor Elmi Muller, a transplant surgeon practising at UCT Private Academic Hospital, said the recent transplant on Vicars was a milestone for the hospital.
“Kevin’s father, John, is 67 years old, but he has worked hard at being in good shape to give his son the best possible chance with this kidney transplant. Transplantation is not always feasible and is never an easy process for donor or recipient, but maintaining good health can make all the difference,” she said.
Vicars said he was already back in fitness training, taking the ups and downs of recovery in his stride.
“It’s a process, but I am feeling good, and I’m ready to take life by the horns. Now that I’m in my 30s, I am thinking about settling down, starting a family and travelling more. My father has blessed me with the gift of his kidney and is doing amazingly well himself. I intend to show him my gratitude by living my best life.”
Reflecting on the hundreds of patients and loved ones whose lives have been changed by the transplant programme at UCT Private Academic Hospital, Muller notes that this has also included many high-risk patients who require specialised solutions.
This has led to the centre offering the only private ABO incompatible kidney transplantation programme in the country.
Dr Zunaid Barday, a nephrologist practising at the hospital explains that ABO-incompatible transplantation solves the problem of certain blood group incompatibilities between recipients and donors, which is a key factor in ensuring that the recipient’s body does not reject the donor’s kidney.
“In the simplest terms, we use a highly specialised and efficient type of medical technology that specifically filters out the antibodies from a recipient’s blood prior to transplantation, making it possible for them to receive a kidney from a person with a blood type that would otherwise be incompatible. This means that the pool of potential donors is much larger, so waiting times for a donor can be dramatically reduced, giving many more people a better chance at life,” he said.
Muller said that when the programme was started in 2011, there was a need for a second centre in the Western Cape in addition to Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital.
Commenting on the 200th kidney transplant, Mande Toubkin, general manager emergency, trauma, transplant and CSI at Netcare congratulated the team.
“Thank you to the remarkable transplant team at UCT Private Academic Hospital for always striving to do more. This incredible milestone is testament to your dedication to providing our patients with the best possible care – congratulations to you all, this is certainly an achievement to celebrate,” Toubkin said.
Cape Argus