Lisa Burnapp

Consultant Nurse, Living Donor Kidney Transplantation, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London

I head a team of nurses that coordinate the living-donor kidney programme at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. My role is to liaise with donors and recipients and carry out a primary assessment to find out if they are suitable to proceed. At the hospital we have built a reputation for dealing with more complex recipients who may otherwise be excluded from transplantation. For these patients, a planned living-donor transplant may offer them the only opportunity for a life free from dialysis.

The HTA's independent assessment process gives reassurance that we have truly upheld the best interests of the donor. Working with someone independent gives us a safeguard that we are following best practice. Without an external arbiter we would have no benchmark; the HTA gives us a national benchmark.

The information the HTA provides for the public is very important - we use the living-donor leaflet all the time and I regularly direct people to the HTA website because it is very accessible.

It has been a privilege to be a member of the HTA Transplant Working Group. Everyone in the group has a different expertise and we listen carefully to each others' views. We work through problems or address issues that may have come up and it is rewarding to affect clinical practice at a grass roots level.

The HTA wants to find out what the challenges are, and talk to us rather than dictate what happens. Initially the transplant community was very anxious about the amount of time it would take for approvals. The HTA listened to our concerns and promised to turn around decisions within five days, but in reality it is almost always much quicker.

The HTA has worked hard to minimise bureaucracy and take a pragmatic approach. The codes of practice also provide very clear guidance and help to clarify any grey areas in the legislation