Man has milestone liver operation

A Nottinghamshire man has become the 10,000th patient to receive a liver transplant in the UK

August 11, 2004

James Watson, a 54-year-old retired furnace man from Newark, underwent a six-hour operation at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge last month.

The UK's first liver transplant was done at the same hospital in 1968.

Mr Watson needed the transplant after his liver was irreparably damaged by drugs he was prescribed to control chronic rheumatoid arthritis.

Organ donation

He left hospital 14 days after his operation and is back home with his wife Mandy, 43.

He said: "I was very ill and they told me I only had a few weeks to live without a transplant.

"It was a heck of a shock to find that my life would end unless someone somewhere took the decision that they would allow organ donation."

Adult patients usually have to wait 60 days for a liver transplant, but Mr Watson only had to wait 15 days for a match.

'Selfless acts'

He said he would always be grateful to the donor, a 37-year-old man from the south of England.

Mr Watson's surgeon, Paul Gibb, said: "His successful progress is typical of liver transplantation today, emphasising how much has been achieved since the pioneering days of Sir Roy Calne in Cambridge in the late 1960s.

"We must always remember that we remain indebted to the selfless acts of donor families, who think of others at times of great sadness in their lives."

Chris Rudge, UK Transplant's medical director, said: "We wish Mr Watson the very best of success in his new life."

Copyright © 2004 BBC News.

This article posted August 29, 2004.