Key points
- The inpatient assessment involves a series of medical checks, tests and scans. You’ll be admitted to the hospital for 5 to 7 days for the assessment.
- You’ll meet each member of the 'multi-disciplinary team' (MDT). They will assess you from their specialist point of view.
- The transplant coordinator will be your guide throughout the assessment. They will explain all the tests, and provide support for you and your family. They will also ensure that you have the opportunity to ask any questions and meet all the relevant transplant team members.
- After the assessment, the MDT reviews your case in detail, discussing the risks and benefits, to determine whether you would be suitable.
- There are three possible outcomes of the assessment.
- You’re recommended for transplant.
- You’re not suitable at this time, but may be in the future.
- You’re not recommended for transplant.
What is the inpatient assessment?
The assessment is a series of tests, medical checks and meetings with specialists. The goal of the assessment is to
- determine if you are well enough to cope with the major surgery
- ensure your other major organs can function after transplant
- identifiy any potential barriers or risks
The assessment helps us gauge if you are likely to have a better quality of life and overall health after transplant. We won't know until after the assessment is completed and your information is reviewed whether transplant would be a good option for you, or even if it's needed at this stage.
If you are a patient with cystic fibrosis, you can have the assessment in your local cystic fibrosis centre. All other patients will be either admitted to the Mater or to their local hospital for 5 to 7 days. You may be able to complete some tests as an outpatient or at your local hospital.
When is the assessment?
When a bed becomes available on the heart and lung transplant ward, a nurse will call you and arrange for you to be admitted. This ward is also used to treat patients who have become sick before or after their transplant. This means it can be difficult to predict when a bed will become available and it can sometimes happen at short notice. If you're not able to come in when the nurse calls, we will keep you on our bed list. Unfortunately we will not know when the next bed will become available.
If your admission is delayed, we may try to start some of the assessments at your local hospital until you can be admitted.
“Transplant is a procedure with significant risks. All patients referred to us will be given the same thorough physical and psychosocial assessment. We want to ensure that the procedure is the best option for you, so that we can improve your quality of life and survival post surgery.”
- Dr Michelle Murray, Lung Transplant Consultant
Meeting the transplant team
The transplant team at the Mater is made up of many different specialists. Together they are called the 'multi-disciplinary team' (MDT). Each specialist on the team will assess you from their perspective and decide whether they would recommend you for transplant. These specialists are trying to make sure that you would do well if you were offered a lung transplant. Each member wants to make sure you're as prepared as possible by going through the risks and complications of the procedure on a 1-to-1 basis.
Successful transplant is not only about your physical health. It is very demanding, both emotionally and mentally, for you and your support network. The MDT will take everything into consideration before making a decision.
Prepare for your hospital stay
Be sure to bring the following with you to hospital:
- Comfortable clothes, shoes for exercise, underwear, toiletries
- Dental reports from your local dentist
- Pap smear results from your GP (for women)
- Updated vaccination list from your GP
Ask a family member or friend to come with you. You will have important meetings with consultants, social workers, coordinators and post transplant nurses. It will be helpful to have their support during these discussions.
Assessment outcome
It may take several weeks before all the information for the assessment has been gathered. Afterwards, the entire MDT will get together to discuss your specific case in detail. The team may ask you to complete more tests. This is all done to help ensure they make the right decision. Transplant can be life saving but it also brings risks and complications. The team won’t expose you to the risks unless they are confident the benefits outweigh these risks for you.
There are three potential outcomes of the assessment: