“For me, it is a miracle that I will be able to spend Christmas at home with my wife, children, and grandchildren. I never thought that I would make it through this year, but God has a plan for me,” Swart said a few days prior to being discharged from hospital.

Swart needed a double lung transplant because he suffered from interstitial lung disease with pulmonary hypertension, meaning that the blood pressure in his lungs was too high and they were not functioning normally due to inflammation and scarring of the lung tissue.

“When we saw him at the beginning of this year, Mr Swart was very, very ill and very short of breath. He had put on a lot of weight because of all the medication he was on, and due to his condition he was short of breath and couldn’t do much exercise,” says pulmonologist, Dr Paul Williams. 

In South Africa, there is a critical shortage of organ donors, with approximately 4 300 South Africans on the waiting list for transplants, according to the Organ Donor Foundation. Swart was lucky - just a few days after being declared fit for surgery, a suitable matching donor organ became available and he received a double lung transplant.

Mande Toubkin, Netcare’s general manager: emergency, trauma, transplant, and corporate social investment, says that the shortage of organ donors means that many people in need of organ transplants are not as fortunate as Swart. “Tragically, many people on the waiting list for donor organs die before suitable matching organs become available,” she says.

The transplant team involved in the transplant at Netcare Milpark Hospital included Dr Williams, a cardiothoracic surgeon; Dr Agneta Geldenhuys and Dr Martin Sussman, cardiothoracic surgery registrars; Dr Siya Mahlangu, an anaesthetist; Dr Ronet Steyn and perfusionist, Deon Van Der Berg; and Dr Marlize Frauendorf, the transplant co-ordinator. Netcare’s holistic transplant service also includes support from psychologists and dieticians through the different phases of the transplant process.

Toubkin says, like all transplant patients, Swart and his family will continue to receive support following his discharge from hospital. “We wish Mr Swart and his family all the very best over the festive season, into the New Year, and beyond. This would not have been possible if not for the donor and their family, and therefore we appeal to the public to consider registering as organ donors, as this truly is the gift of life,” she says. 

For more information, visit www.odf.org.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook.