Relaunching the transplant survivors list

Authored by Pete Knox, Chairperson of Harefield Transplant Club.

I’m delighted to share that we have relaunched the Transplant Survivors List – a record of all patients who have had their heart, lung or heart and lung transplants at Harefield Hospital, and are still alive for 5 or more years 5 since their transplant.

History of the list

The transplant survivors list was originally set up and maintained by a member of staff named
Ann Walker, was posted on a noticeboard in the outpatients area at Harefield Hospital for many years.

It was incredibly popular – patients loved seeing their name on the list and newer transplantees found it incredibly inspirational. I remember seeing the list for the first time a couple of weeks after my own transplant, and being very comforted by all those names of people who’d been where I was and were still alive and thriving many years later.

Unfortunately, Ann Walker left the hospital and the list was taken down amid concerns over data protection and consent. There was nobody who was able to volunteer to take over the responsibility from Ann.

The process of reviving the list

In the last few months, I have worked alongside Harefield Hospital staff members Dr Vicky Gerovasili, Sydney Bunting and Raj Binu, to re-create the list. It’s now both a paper version which can be found where the list was originally kept (next to the Blood room in Harefield Hospital outpatients), and a slideshow version to be played on the screen in outpatients.

Patients have been asked for their consent to being on the list, and we’ve had an absolutely
fantastic response. We’ve tried to be as inclusive as possible, expanding the list to include
not just patients who had their transplants at Harefield, but those who had their transplants
elsewhere but now receive their follow-up Harefield, and those who had transplants at
Harefield but now have their care elsewhere – we’re all part of the Harefield community.

Thank you!

I’m incredibly grateful to all of the patients who have consented to be on the list, it really
couldn’t happen without you, and also especially to Ann Walker, for the original idea and for
maintaining the list for so many years. A big thank you should also go out to Vicky, Sydney
and Raj, for all their help in making this happen. It’s a wonderful feeling to see the list up in
outpatients now, and I hope it provides the same comfort to those who see it for the first time
now, as it did to me those 7 years ago.

If you have any questions about the list, please contact us via the form on this website.