It is shockingly brutal to hear a doctor say that, in order to be placed on the list of those in need of new lungs, one must have only one year left to live. Norway’s Crown Princess falls into that category. Her condition has undergone a dramatic deterioration.

She is unlikely to feel any better upon hearing that the police have refused to release her son.

Through the court proceedings and the massive media coverage, Marius has already received a punishment that he will have to live with for the rest of his life. Only a very few people possess a status such that media coverage leaves deeper scars than the sentence itself.

Through the coverage, the public has seen what sort of person Marius is. That is the worst punishment, worse than imprisonment.

But right now, it means a great deal to his mother that he be released. The police and prosecution authorities do not appear to care. They act as though they would gladly see the Royal Family destroyed. They appeal to the basest instincts in the population. We once lived by the principle of not trampling one’s neighbour under an iron-shod heel.

But those who govern want a de-Christianised country.

“The seriousness of this situation cannot be overstated. When doctors determine that a patient needs to be placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant, it means that the disease has reached a stage where life expectancy is approximately one year without a transplant,” says Marthe Gundersen, health adviser at the Norwegian Heart and Lung Patient Organisation (LHL).

“At the same time, it is important to remember that this is also an expression of hope, because the doctors believe that the patient may benefit from a transplant,” she adds.

She points out that a patient must be ill enough to require new lungs, while at the same time strong enough to endure major surgery and lifelong treatment afterwards.

Many Things Must Fall into Place

Around 30 lung transplants are performed in Norway each year. The availability of suitable donor lungs is the greatest limitation. Blood type, body size and medical factors must all be compatible.

“For patients, this means living in a constant state of readiness,” says Gundersen.

The order of the waiting list is dynamic, explains Olav Kåre Refvem, lung specialist and adviser at LHL. In addition to the criteria already mentioned, the lungs are also allocated to the patient in the poorest state of health.

“The right people receive the lungs that are the best match,” Refvem tells NTB.

Only three people were on the waiting list for a lung transplant at the end of the first quarter of this year, according to the Scandinavian transplant cooperation organisation, Scandiatransplant.

“Behind every lung transplant there is also a donor and a grieving family. That makes this one of the most serious and, at the same time, most meaningful areas of medicine,” says Gundersen of LHL.

No Guarantee

Being placed on a waiting list is not a guarantee that one will undergo surgery. During the waiting period, a patient may become too ill to be operated on.

“It does happen that a suitable organ cannot be found in time. It also happens that some people on the waiting list die while waiting,” Refvem states.

Even if a suitable donor is found and the operation is carried out, there is still no guarantee that it will succeed.

“After that, the struggle against rejection begins. Those who receive a good match will manage on the lowest possible level of medication, while others will face greater difficulties,” says the lung specialist. (NTB)