Publisher Health

A woman who received a lung transplant as she was “suffocating with every breath” credited a system to prioritise urgent cases with saving her life.

The UK Lung Allocation Scheme (Uklas) was introduced in 2017, categorising patients by need.

Georgie Cooper, 26, of Chelmsford, said being moved to the “urgent” list for a transplant made her feel “reborn”.

A study of the system at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge found the odds of a transplant greatly increased.

The Uklas scheme was introduced by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).

It categorises patients’ needs into three groups – “super urgent”, “urgent” and “non-urgent” – and also cuts out geographical boundaries.

The study looked at results after the scheme was introduced in 2017, and before.

Researchers found the odds of receiving a transplant within six months increased by 41% after the initiative.

They examined data on lung transplants across the UK between March 2015 and November 2016 – before the scheme was introduced – and from May 2017 to January 2019.

They found 461 patients joined the lung transplant waiting list in the first period, and 471 after Uklas was launched.

Before 2017, the average waiting time for donor lungs was 427 days.

After the scheme’s launch, “super urgent” patients waited an average of eight days for transplant and “urgent” patients 15 days.

Ms Cooper was categorised as “urgent” need and received a lung transplant in 2021.

She has cystic fibrosis and, by the time of her transplant, was considered just weeks from death.

“Before my transplant I was suffocating with every breath I tried to take,” said Ms Cooper.

“I am so happy I could be prioritised for an urgent transplant.

“Knowing that if you get sicker, the system adjusts, really helps.

“I feel reborn. I am so grateful to the donor and their family – they are my heroes.”

However, those in the “non urgent” category had longer average waits with many waiting for more than a year-and-a-half (585 days).

The study found the proportion of people who died while on the waiting list reduced from 15% to 13% after the scheme was launched.

Post-transplant survival also increased: before the scheme was launched about 81% of patients survived for at least a year, rising to 83% after Uklas was rolled out.

One of the study’s authors, Jasvir Parmar, a transplant consultant at Royal Papworth Hospital, said: “The new policy has fulfilled its goals of prioritising the most critically ill and improving the odds of transplantation.”

Dale Gardiner, of NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “The revised lung allocation scheme was developed to ensure timely allocation of donor lungs to those most in need.”

He encouraged more people to register as donors.

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