Fed: Transplant first opens up a whole new world
By Rosemary Desmond
BRISBANE, Aug 8 AAP - Jason Grey may not be up to climbing mountains, but thanks toAustralia's first triple-organ transplant, a whole new world awaits.
Mr Grey, 25, a cystic fibrosis sufferer, was given less than two years to live whenhe moved with his mother Debbie to Brisbane in hope of undergoing the operation.
He was barely able to walk 20 metres and needed oxygen 24 hours a day before the heart,lungs and liver transplant was carried out at Brisbane's Prince Charles hospital lastweek.
Now doctors believe that if his body accepts his new organs, most of the good thingsin life can be his to enjoy.
That will include a spin in his Mitsubishi Lancer with airbrush art on the bonnet,which Mr Grey was unable to drive because of his illness and which he only kept becauseof the kindness of friends.
A car enthusiast, he was forced to put his treasured set of wheels up for sale on theinternet to help pay his increasing medical expenses.
But his friends pitched in to raise money and help him keep the car.
Doctors are hopeful Mr Grey will be leaving hospital in two to three weeks' time, buthe will remain on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life.
The man charged with overseeing his recovery, Prince Charles's head of transplant services,Associate Professor Keith McNeil, said it was "extremely likely" Mr Grey would be ableto spend every day like a reasonably healthy person.
"He probably can't climb Mt Everest but he should be able to cope with day to day activities,"
Prof McNeil said.
"We've had people run marathons, go scuba diving, skydiving and really achieve a relativelynormal quality of life following these sorts of (organ) transplants."
Mr Grey's surgery was the first time Australian surgeons had tackled a heart, lungsand liver transplant in one operation.
Only around 15 or 20 such operations have been carried out worldwide.
The procedure was carried out by 18 surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses and from Brisbane'sPrince Charles and Princess Alexandra Hospitals in a 13-hour operation using organs froman anonymous donor.
"This is a technical tour de force by these very skilled surgeons here," Prof McNeil said.
"Not (just) anybody can do this sort of transplant procedure."
Mr Grey's new organs will be free of cystic fibrosis but he will not be cured of the disease.
Prof McNeil said cystic fibrosis sufferers were the most likely candidates for suchtriple transplants in the future.
"But really we wouldn't expect this to come up very often at all," Prof McNeil said.
A host of well wishers have flooded Mr Grey with calls and messages.
Charity organisation Angel Flight even helped reunite his family last month.
On July 5, Sydney-based pilot and biomechanical engineer Andrew Barriskill flew MrGrey's brother Christian and nephew Jeremy to Brisbane in his Piper Arrow.
Mr Grey and his mother Debbie had been unable to visit their family members in Sydneybecause he was too sick.
Now all that has changed.
AAP rad/sc/was/de
KEYWORD: TRANSPLANT (AAP BACKGROUNDER)
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