Between 26th June and 12th July 2015 a group of people who have all had life saving heart and lung transplants will be attempting to reach the summit of Cotopaxi in Ecuador. At 5897m high this would set a new record for the highest altitude reached by anyone after such a major life saving surgery and will be attempted in honour of our donors and their amazing families. Without their gifts we would not here, but now we can climb mountains.
A major goal for this expedition is to raise awareness of just what amazing things transplantees can achieve after their surgeries and how valuable being an organ donor can be.
Another goal is to be able to purchase some Organ Care Systems for Harefield hospital. The Organ Care System is a revolutionary way to transport donated organs whilst pumping warm oxygenated blood through it. The traditional method of transporting on ice gave a 3-4 hour maximum window to transport and use the donated organ. The OCS machine increases this time to 12 hours making more organ available to a wider number of patients, maximising the chances of a someone in need getting the life saving operation they need in time, but also ensuring that where a donor and their family have made the ultimate gift, the organ is far more likely to be used rather than wasted.
More info about the OCS can be found here...
http://www.transmedics.com/wt/page/organ_care
By combining awareness of what can be achieved to promote people joining the organ donor register and supplying more OCS systems, the number of available organs will rise and the 1 in 5 people in the UK who die whilst waiting for an organ can be reduced.
The ability to successfully carry out these incredible surgeries has been refined over the last few decades and the single biggest problem facing patients now is the availability of the donor organs.
We can think of nothing we'd love to do more than climb in memory of our donors.
