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Chapter 1: What is the significance of lung transplants in modern medicine?
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Katsot tarjoukset ja varaa omasi.
Kyllä, se on lempeä kesä nyt, kun elämänmaku on kaikista makein. Mieli kuin nuorena tyttönä kaurapellolla, kun saa liihottaa. Nauti vaan, ja ota väli pala välissä. Ai, ai, ai, ai, niin se on.
Eloveena. Täyttä eloa.
Hello, I'm James Reynolds. Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. In BBC Conversations, we bring people together to share their experiences. This time, we hear from patients and doctors with first-hand knowledge of life-saving lung transplants. Norway's royal family has revealed that its crown princess, 52-year-old Meta Marit, has undergone a successful lung transplant.
This major surgery was carried out to treat chronic pulmonary fibrosis. That's a progressive lung disease which was first diagnosed in the princess eight years ago. Later, we'll hear from two physicians who work closely with lung transplant patients and their families. But our first conversation is with women who have experienced the operation for themselves.
Natalia Maieva lives in Sofia in Bulgaria. She travelled to Austria in 2016 for a double lung transplant. Natalia Maieva, and Amy Morrison is in Rotherham in the north of England. Her transplant operation took place last year. It was the culmination of a series of life-changing events.
It kind of started really, I noticed when I was out with both of my brothers that I was really breathless and they actually needed to kind of carry me back to the train station. Just assumed that I had a winter bug, nothing really serious. Went to the local A&E who diagnosed me with pneumonia and thought really that would be the end of it.
Before they could do a X-ray on my lungs, they did ask me to do a pregnancy test, which to my shock came back that I was pregnant. I was three weeks pregnant at the time, so the emotions were all over the place anyway.
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Chapter 2: What challenges do lung transplant patients face before surgery?
She was born at 700 grams, so very, very tiny. We're now nearly up to a stone. So she's doing really well. She's amazing and a little superstar. The recovery from the transplant physically, it's a lot, especially with a baby as well. Sometimes you're just so tired. We are both still at risk of infections, myself being immune suppressed now, but also my daughter being so premature.
So we are just mindful of where we go, who we see. And to be honest, we've got our own little bubble. We're recovering, but it's very much day at a time And kind of going from there, really.
It's amazing. You're both in this together in those different ways, aren't you?
Yeah. And following on from all of the events that happened last year, the wider teams wanted to understand why my sister had a heart and lung transplant. She tragically died when she was 21, which was 10 years after her transplant. They've done some genetic testings, which have shown that we both had a genetic mutation and mine was triggered from the pneumonia and
Now looking further, they've seen that my daughter also has this genetic mutation. But now we know this, we can keep on top of her health. We know that it's something that she might need to deal with in the future.
It is astonishing to hear your and your daughter's story, Amy. Thank you so much. And we'll bring in Natalia from Bulgaria. Natalia, when you yourself needed a lung transplant, you couldn't get that treatment in your own home country. You had to go abroad. Tell us about that.
Back in 2009, when I was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension, this is a rare lung disease that accused the small vessels in the lung. So at that time, Bulgarian state did not provide any proper therapy about my illness. So my family started to pay for this just to save my life. And I started the procedure here with the Bulgarian authorities. It was a very, very big fight.
You can imagine, I was extremely ill with oxygen therapy for 16 hours per day. And I should prepare all the documents to fight with different institutions here in Bulgaria. But this time Bulgaria had the contract with the Austrian clinic in Vienna University Hospital. So I'm one of nine patients who was transplanted in Vienna in the period since 2040 till 2019.
And my lucky day was 9th of March, 2060, when was founded a suitable clinic. And I want to share a big thank you to the whole team in the thoracic surgery clinic in Vienna. Because of them, I will not be able to speak now with you. You know, when you live with oxygen, every word counts. Because sometimes you don't have enough oxygen and when you don't feel well, you just can't say only one word.
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Chapter 3: How do patients cope with the emotional aspects of lung transplant?
So, yeah, just, you know, anybody that donates blood, anyone that donates breast milk, all of these things, they do really, really help in recovery as well. we both wouldn't be here without all of them.
Amy, listening to Natalia there, she said she has two birthdays, the original birthday and the day she feels she came back to life with the transplant. Is that how you see it for yourself?
Yeah, I'm really quite fortunate that I get to celebrate my daughter's birthday on the 2nd of July and then on the 16th of July we celebrate my transplant day. So July is a big celebration.
Yes, keep the balloons up.
Yes. Yeah, so hopefully it's my first year since all the events. So hopefully this year the celebrations can kind of take away some of those more painful memories and we can just sit and enjoy being together and actually just enjoy every single day that comes really. A big hug from Bulgaria. Amy, your story is amazing. Thank you. I'm sure Jessica's now in a stage where she likes and enjoys cake.
So I think the house is going to be a mess for that day. But we'll take lots of photos for her to remember.
Natalia and Amy there, extremely grateful recipients of lung transplants.
Kyllä, se on lempeä kesä nyt, kun elämänmaku on kaikista makein. Mieli kuin nuorena tyttönä kaurapellolla, kun saa liihottaa. Nauti vaan, ja ota väli pala välissä. Ai, ai, ai, ai, niin se on.
Eloveena. Täyttä eloa. Sanni is Sanni, not a interior influencer. When Sanni decides to paint his kitchen, he has to have the colors white, the equipment on top, and the game plan ready. Then he heads to K-Rauta, where the painting succeeds. On the surface, for the best. With painting purchases, you can also win 10,000 euros. K-Rauta. Helps you to the beginning and forward. I'm James Reynolds.
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Chapter 4: What does the recovery process look like after a lung transplant?
Then they succumb to chronic rejection and its complications. But these patients are resilient. They're incredibly strong. They have a grit that you can't measure. And their families are incredible in their support.
Dr. Gheravasi, what kind of contact, if any, are you allowed with the family of the person whose lungs are used in a transplant?
So these practices can differ between different countries and they are defined by the donation and laws. In the UK, we cannot directly contact the family of the deceased. The recipient is allowed to write a letter to them and reach out. In a similar way, the donor family is also allowed very much allowed to write and reach out.
And this communication happens through NHSBT, so through the governing body of transplantation in the UK. If they so wish, of course, they can get directly in touch after that. And we do have some very heartwarming stories of people
recipients and families of disease meeting up, having a relationship and families getting comfort from the fact that the lungs, the heart, the organs of their loved ones keep going and have given life to someone else.
Dr. Budev, what are the rules in the United States?
There are very similar rules. There is no real contact that's provided formally between the donor family and the recipient. The recipient, after about six months, is allowed and asked to write a letter to the donor family, which goes through a network, through the organ procurement organization or the OPO, and goes through a grief counselor for review.
The letter is reviewed, and then it's shared with the donor family. The donor family can write to the recipient, just like in the UK and in other parts of the world. But that is rare that happens. It's usually the recipient reaching out. And as my colleague mentioned, there are so many heartwarming stories, but there are also some sad stories.
There's some stories where they never hear from their donor family and recipients wonder, why, why am I not hearing? And they'll continue to write letters. And then other times there are wonderful letters of how they've actually corresponded. They've met. I have donor families and recipient families. that have gone on vacation to Europe together.
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Chapter 5: What role do doctors play in the lung transplant journey?
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