Transplantation Laboratory, Manchester Royal Infirmary #HeroesOfTransplantation

My name is Marie and I’m a Senior Clinical Scientist in Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (H&I for short) at the Transplantation Laboratory in Manchester. Our laboratory is involved in a number of types of solid organ transplants, including kidney, pancreas, islet, heart and lung.

Our renal transplant unit has performed over 7,500 transplants since the first one in March 1968. We currently perform around 300 per year and are one of the largest renal programmes in the UK transplanting both adults and children.

Some of the specialist work we perform includes:

• Antibody testing – to detect whether patients have any antibodies in their blood which could cause a reaction or rejection after the transplant
• Tissue typing – to determine how closely matched a recipient is with a potential living or deceased donor
• Crossmatching – a test where we combine potential donor and recipient samples to see if a reaction takes place

These tests help to ensure that the transplants that take place are as safely as possible, and in the case of deceased donor transplants the testing is often performed out of hours. To facilitate this we run a 24/7 on call service 365 days a year, liaising with specialist transplant nurses, transplant coordinators and surgeons.

Through our laboratory work we are with patients throughout their entire transplant journey. From their initial referral then their work up for a transplant, whether that be from a related living donor, unrelated living donor or deceased donor, and then monitoring their progress post transplant. It is a privilege to work closely with the clinical teams helping to make sure that our patients are getting the best care and treatment possible.

Our laboratory is also involved in stem cell transplants, where part of our role is to search for the best possible donor for people with blood cancers and blood disorders. We test brothers and sisters, parents and children and search the World Marrow Donor Association register for unrelated donors from all over the world to find the best match. It is always exciting when we find the perfect donor for one of our patients, but sadly there isn’t always a match. That is why the Anthony Nolan Registry (donors aged 16-30) and the DKMS UK (donors aged 17-55) are always looking for more people to volunteer as stem cell donors and possibly give someone a lifeline.