HOMESpecialised servicesbreadcrumb separatorTransplant facilities and services

Transplant facilities and services

Each year, approximately 500 South Africans will receive an organ transplant, and Netcare’s Transplant division is responsible for facilitating more than 40% of these transplants. Netcare is the biggest private provider of transplants in South Africa and has been at the forefront of some of the most important achievements in transplant medicine in South Africa.

Netcare is the biggest private provider of transplants in South Africa.

The Netcare Transplant division co-ordinates kidney, kidney-pancreas, heart, liver, single lung, bilateral lung (both lungs) and heart-lung transplants, and close on 3 000 transplantations have been performed at our transplant centres since the division was established in 1990. Our transplantation programme is well regarded internationally and our clinical outcomes are comparable with those in the rest of the world.

The ‘gift of life’

At any given time, approximately 2 000 South Africans are awaiting various transplants including heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas and cornea transplants. Sadly, a number of these persons will die if suitable organs are not found for them. The vast majority of transplants today are successful and greatly improve the quality of life of transplant recipients. Organ donation and transplantation are therefore quite literally a ‘gift of life’.

Holistic approach to transplantation

Netcare’s transplant programme is managed by multi-disciplinary teams and is based on a comprehensive and holistic approach, taking into consideration the unique physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs of each patient.

The transplant teams are experienced in all aspects of transplantation and collaborate closely to provide patients with world class care and optimal support throughout the transplantation process which, in most cases, is a lengthy one.

We provide patients with the required medical expertise by specialists such as nephrologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists and transplant surgeons, and with on-going support and advice by transplant social workers, psychologists, dieticians as well as patient-experience support groups. Our transplant coordinators and transplant recipient coordinators also play a key role in liaising with patients awaiting transplantation. The multi-disciplinary team of experts are available to patients and their families throughout the different phases of the transplantation process.

Netcare’s transplant network

The Netcare Transplant division’s services are coordinated through the head office in Sandton. The division operates from regional offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth.

Netcare transplant centres

Free State
Bloemfontein: Universitas Private Hospital

Universitas Private Hospital is in a public private partnership (PPP) with the Free State Department of Health. Universitas Private Hospital offers a kidney transplant programme. Although the progamme is relative young in comparison to the other Netcare transplant centres, it has proved to be as efficient in providing kidney transplants to patients.

Gauteng
Johannesburg: Netcare Garden City Hospital

Netcare Garden City Hospital is one of the largest private hospitals in South Africa and its cutting edge technology and highly skilled and experienced doctors and professional nursing staff contribute to making it a world-class facility.

The hospital offers highly specialised healthcare across a range medical disciplines. A number of specialised physician’s clinics are also offered at the hospital, namely in the fields of cardiology, renal dialysis, gastroenterology, nephrology, oncology, pulmonology and HIV/Aids management.

The transplant centre at the hospital offers a dedicated kidney transplant programme.

Johannesburg: Netcare Milpark Hospital

Netcare Milpark Hospital is located in Parktown West, Johannesburg, and is widely acknowledged as being one of Africa’s leading hospitals. It has an internationally accredited 30-bed trauma unit serviced by a 24-hour helipad and a team of leading trauma specialists and nurses and a dedicated Netcare 911 paramedic crew. 

The hospital is the only Netcare facility to offer lung transplantation and the programme furthermore includes heart and kidney transplants.   The transplant centre has been offering transplant services since 1994.

Johannesburg: Netcare Sunninghill Hospital

Netcare Sunninghill Hospital is situated in the north of Johannesburg and is a well-established and recognised centre of excellence for paediatric cardiology and paediatric cardio-thoracic surgery. Netcare Sunninghill Hospital offers a variety of medical disciplines, including emergency medicine, cardiology, cardio-thoracic surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics.  A paediatric heart transplant programme has been developed and is available to suitable patients. This is one of only two private facilities in South Africa to offer paediatric heart transplants.

Pretoria: Netcare Jakaranda Hospital

Situated in the suburb of Muckleneuk, Pretoria, Netcare Jakaranda Hospital specialises in kidney transplantation and also offers world-class renal dialysis and care.  In 2016, the transplant centre at the hospital commemorated the 21st anniversary of its high quality transplant programme. 

KwaZulu-Natal
Durban: Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital

The flagship of the Netcare Transplant division’s KwaZulu-Natal region is Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital, the largest private hospital in the province. The hospital, which has served the region for more than a century, is equipped with the latest medical technology and the facilities have been upgraded and modernised while its historical charm has been maintained.

Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital offers services across all medical disciplines and facilitates an active kidney transplant programme.

Western Cape
Cape Town: Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital

At the core of the Netcare Transplant division’s Cape region is Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital, which is dedicated to the memory of Dr Christiaan Barnard who performed the world’s first heart transplant.

The hospital offers a full range of medical services to patients and is particularly renowned for its excellence in the fields of cardiology and cardiac surgery. The transplant centre offers heart, kidney and kidney-pancreas transplant programmes, including paediatric heart transplants – one of only two private facilities in South Africa where paediatric heart transplants are performed. The centre celebrated the successful completion of its 200th heart transplant in 2015 and its 600th kidney transplant in 2016.

Cape Town: UCT Private Academic Hospital

UCT Private Academic Hospital offers private care in an academic environment, through its innovative collaboration with the University of Cape Town’s Medical School and Groote Schuur Hospital.

Situated at Groote Schuur Hospital and UCT Medical School, the transplant centre at UCT Private Academic Hospital offers kidney, heart and liver transplants. The hospital’s transplant programme started with heart and kidneys in 2009, and the first liver transplant was performed in 2014. By 2016, the centre had performed over 50 kidney transplants.

Longest living heart transplant patient celebrated 21 years of living with a donor heart

On 25 July 2016, Mr Wessel Janse van Rensburg (63) of Heidelberg in Gauteng celebrated the 21st anniversary of his heart transplant. Mr Janse van Rensburg received his new heart in 1995 at Netcare Milpark Hospital, and is the hospital’s longest living heart transplant recipient. He was only the second patient to undergo a heart transplant at the hospital, was discharged less than a month after the transplant, and soon thereafter resumed his job.

Clinical governance in transplantation

The Netcare Transplant division is committed to transparent and accountable clinical governance systems to support the transplant teams and to provide patient-centred, safe, high quality care and superior patient outcomes in a cost-effective manner. The clinical governance structure implemented in Netcare serves to ensure absolute legal and ethical compliance within all frameworks of transplantation.

We align to international standards guided by South African legislation, Netcare policies and standard operating procedures, and by guidelines issued by the South African Transplant Society.

The pillars of clinical governance

The aspects/themes on which the clinical governance process is based

 
 
 
 
 
 
Clinical effectiveness & clinical practice
Clinical risk management
Patient experience
Professional development, management & training
Communication / Knowledge management
Clinical leadership
 
 
 
 
 
 
  • Guidelines
  • Panels
  • Mitigate
  • Audit I & E
  • M & M
  • Risk register
  • Questionnaires
  • Feedback
  • Booklets
  • Drs & staff – CMEs
  • Patients - education
  • Newsletters
  • Reports
  • Websites
  • Providers

The pillars of clinical governance

The aspects/themes on which the clinical governance process is based

Clinical effectiveness & clinical practice
  • Guidelines
  • Panels
Clinical risk management
  • Mitigate
  • Audit I & E
  • M & M
  • Risk register
Patient experience
  • Questionnaires
  • Feedback
  • Booklets
Professional development, management & training
  • Drs & staff – CMEs
  • Patients - education
Communication / Knowledge management
  • Newsletters
  • Reports
  • Websites
Clinical leadership
  • Providers
Challenges Objectives Practical action
Increase organ availability 1. Full potential of deceased donation
2. Living donation as complementary
3. Increase public awareness 		1. Transplant coordinators
2. Quality improvement programmes
3. Living donation programmes
Enhance efficiency and accessibility of transplantation systems 4. Support and guide Tx systems 4. Communication skills
5. Clinical governance
6. Enhance organisational models
7. SA wide agreements
8. Interchange organs
Quality and safety 5. Improve quality and safety 9. Evaluation of post transplant results
10.Common accreditation system
Challenge

Increase organ availability

Objectives
  1. Full potential of deceased donation
  2. Living donation as complementary
  3. Increase public awareness
Practical action
  1. Transplant coordinators
  2. Quality improvement programmes
  3. Living donation programmes
 
Challenge

Enhance efficiency and accessibility of transplantation systems

Objective
  1. Support and guide Tx systems
Practical action
  1. Communication skills
  2. Clinical governance
  3. Enhance organisational models
  4. SA wide agreements
  5. Interchange organs
 
Challenge

Quality and safety

Objective
  1. Improve quality and safety
Practical action
  1. Evaluation of post transplant results
  2. Common accreditation system
 

How to become an organ donor

Organ transplantation is without a doubt one of the most miraculous achievements of modern medicine. However, at any given time there are approximately 2 000 South Africans who are unable to enjoy the benefits of a transplant because no suitable donated organs are available for them. Organ transplantation depends upon the generosity of those donors and their families who are willing to make this life-saving gift available to others.

The Netcare Transplant division supports the Organ Donor Foundation’s efforts to encourage organ donation. Becoming a donor is easy. All you need to do is to register on the Organ Donor Foundation’s website, www.odf.org.za or to phone them on 0800 226611.

Contact us

Head office: Netcare Transplant division

76 Maude Street (cnr West Street), Sandton
Tel: 011 301 0000

General manager Transplant division: Mande Toubkin
Email: mande.toubkin@netcare.co.za

Regional offices: Netcare Transplant division

Bloemfontein: Tel 012 421 6766 (managed from the Pretoria regional office)
Cape Town: Tel 021 480 6477
Durban: Tel 031 268 5225
Johannesburg: Tel 011 489 1272
Port Elizabeth: Tel 041 363 4861
Pretoria: Tel 012 421 6766