Welcome to the third edition of the Alliance for Pulmonary Hypertension’s “Sharing best practices” series of articles. See also:
In this edition we are delighted to share the news that Prof. Dr Walter Klepetko, a thoracic surgeon from Vienna, Austria, was granted the European Lung Foundation (ELF) Award 2024 for his outstanding work and dedication in providing equal access to lung transplantation for people with lung conditions in countries without transplantation programmes. The award ceremony took place at the Annual Congress of the European Respiratory Congress in Vienna on September 7, 2024. The award was given to him by the Chair of the ELF, Mr Dimitris Kontopidis. We share below the award motivation text, as per the ELF award poster.
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The chances of receiving a lung transplant vary widely across Europe. In some countries, lung transplantations have not been an option for a long time. Prof. Walter Klepetko has built up one of the most successful and respected lung transplantation programs at the Medical University of Vienna, which became Europe’s largest Center for teaching and education in this field.
He and his team have provided structured training in lung transplantation for more than 400 colleagues from countries all over the world, by setting up a twice-yearly lung transplant academy together with providing 6 to 12 months fellowships for intensive training at their department. Over the last 25 years, Prof. Walter Klepetko has created official cooperation with many neighbouring countries where lung transplants were not available yet. By offering transplantation to a limited number of patients from these countries, combined with the exchange of so far unused donor organs, and the structured training of colleagues from these regions, he and his team succeeded in building up independent lung transplant programs in 7 European countries such as Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, and most recently Ukraine.
In this way, they have helped patients beyond borders and nationalities by creating access to this life-saving treatment in countries, where transplantation was not an option before.
For all these achievements, this year’s ELF award recognises Prof. Dr Walter Klepetko for his exceptional work in expanding knowledge, skills and opportunities.
“In some countries across Europe, transplants are not an option. Patient care programmes vary not only from country to country but from centres in the same country. Until a few years ago Greece was one of these countries, where respiratory patients were hopeless, without a chance for lung transplantation. Walter Klepetko’s involvement created the opportunity for lung transplantation in Vienna, saving cystic fibrosis and other respiratory patients no matter their nationality and residence. The support in establishing national lung transplant programmes in countries with less experience and resources has enabled more patients to receive life-saving care, providing a sustainable national solution for a second chance in life. These actions can deeply inspire us to continue advocating for patients for equal access to health care, without borders.” – Dimitris Kontopidis ELF Chair
Dimitris Kontopidis, has a first-hand experience on the importance of having access to transplantation programmes and the life-threatening effects that inequality in access can cause. For this reason, transplantation is at the heart of the ELF 2023-2026 Chair’s Campaign.
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Find out more about Prof. Dr. Klepetko’s groundbreaking work in sharing best practices in lung transplantation surgery at this link. Here are a couple of screenshots from the video.
