February 21st 2025 marks 60 years since the first kidney transplant was performed in Australia.
This achievement is made all the more significant by the fact that it took place at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH) in Woodville.
The recipient was Pasquale (Peter) Tirmacco, a 33 year old husband and father of three, who was suffering from irrecoverable kidney disease caused by damage to the immune system. In the lead-up to the transplant, both of Peter’s kidneys were removed, and he became reliant on artificial kidneys, maintained by a Kolff Haemodialysis machine at TQEH.
Although no human-to-human kidney transplant had been performed in Australia before, an opportunity arose when Peter’s family and friends volunteered to be donors. His father-in-law, Dominic Centofanti, aged 56, was found to be a suitable match and would go on to give the ultimate blessing, his kidney.
On the day of the surgery, Peter was taken into the operating theatre, where a healthy kidney from Dominic was removed in an adjacent theatre and transplanted into Peter’s abdomen. The doctors involved in the procedure were Jim Lawrence, Peter Knight, and Bill Proudman. Following the surgery, which lasted most of the day, Peter was transferred to a special aseptic room where he received specialised nursing care. Dominic made a smooth recovery and was discharged a few days later.
To help the graft ‘take,’ immunosuppressant medication had to be administered, though it increased the patient’s vulnerability to infection. In response, special accommodations were provided to create a highly aseptic post-operative environment for Peter’s recovery. Medical and nursing staff were required to be scrubbed and gowned in sterile clothing before passing through ultraviolet light to enter Peter’s room. A pass-through cupboard with interlocking doors was also installed.
A nurse’s station was set up outside the room, where the nurse could observe the interior through a polarised glass screen. The inside of the room appeared like a mirror. Two-way communication was facilitated by microphones above both Peter’s bed and the nurse’s station. A designated area, protected by glass panels, was created for family and friends to visit Peter, with another two-way communication system in place.
The operation was successful, allowing Peter to return to work, watch his children grow, and enjoy more years with his family. The new organ functioned for 11 years before Peter had to begin dialysis for the last decade of his life. This ground-breaking surgery and its success stand as a testament to the effort, dedication, and research of the TQEH team.
Written by Anna Grigoriev, CALHN Health Museum