Surgeon donates £5,000 to support liver research at QEHB

Mr Nilam Shergill, Consultant Orthopaedic and Spine Surgeon at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, has made a donation of £5,000 to support the work of the NAPLES Project at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

The NAPLES Project is being led by Mr Thamara Perera, and is a ground-breaking research project which could lead to an increase in the number of liver transplants that are carried out.

NAPLES, which stands for Normothermic mAachine Perfusion of the Liver to Enable Sickest first transplantation, is a research project which utilises the OrganOx Machine which uses perfusion to keep a donated liver 'alive' outside the body for up to 24 hours.

This allows doctors to fully check the viability of the liver for transplantation, cleanser it and often improve its quality, making more livers available for transplantation. This machine was brought to the hospital following a successful fundraising campaign by the Liver Foundation UK, part of QEHB Charity, with the support of the Ann Fox Foundation.

Without the OrganOx machine, surgeons have a very short time to assess whether a liver is suitable for transplant and, given the risks of transplanting with an inappropriate organ, have to reject many marginal livers.

The support given to the Liver Foundation UK has meant that 20 liver transplants have taken place which otherwise may have been impossible.

Mr Shergill said: “I met Thamara through a shared patient and have acquired great admiration for the life-saving work he is doing through the NAPLES research project. As a surgeon myself, I recognise the importance of research in improving patient care and would encourage everyone to support this worthy cause.”

Justine Davy, Head of Fundraising for QEHB Charity, said: “Huge thanks go to Mr Shergill for his incredible generosity in donating to support the NAPLES Project here at QEHB. Through the generosity of donors such as Mr Shergill we hope to fund further transplants through the NAPLES Project, which has the potential to change the way that liver transplants are carried out worldwide.”

Find out more about the NAPLES Project, and donate online, here.