Cape Town, South Africa
Special
Transplant Edition of the SAMJ dedicated to Transplantation in South
Africa
“Sharan Rambarran completed his surgical training in 2008 at UKZN. In 2013 he completed a sub-speciality certificate in surgical gastroenterology, with a specific focus on hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) surgery. At this stage he headed up the Upper GI unit at Addington Hospital and was a core member of the GI Surgical Division at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. During this time he helped establish and run advanced endoscopy at IALCH and was involved with outreach to remote hospitals helping up-skill medical professionals at peripheral hospitals across KZN.
Sharan has won a number of travelling international fellowships - Advanced Endoscopy to Kyushu, Japan 2009, Minimal Access Karl Storz surgical fellowship to Straubing, Germany 2015 and two further gastroenterology fellowships to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Sharan moved to Johannesburg Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre in 2016 after a chance meeting with the Johannesburg team inspired a bold move to pivot into transplant surgery.
After completing the fellowship offered by Wits Transplant in 2019, Sharan has now taken up the role as lead surgeon of the Liver Transplant Program at WDGMC.
Sharan is hoping to help drive South Africa into a new era of transplant surgery by demystifying this extremely specialised but vitally needed field of surgery."
Meshack Nkosinaye Motha is an aspiring surgeon with specialized expertise in transplant surgery. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, he has made significant contributions at the CMJAH Transplant Unit and the Wits Hospital Complex. With over 100 cadaveric solid organ procurements, he has advanced renal transplantation in the public sector and is actively involved in expanding to liver and pancreatic transplantation.
Motha’s extensive training includes rotations in general surgery and specialized exposure in trauma, burns, cardiothoracic, and pediatric surgery. He holds multiple qualifications, including a Master of Medicine in Surgery and a Fellowship in the College of Surgeons.
He has contributed to medical research and publications, presenting findings on gallbladder cancer staging and transplant complications. His leadership roles include coordinating surgical education and memberships in prominent transplant and surgical societies. A regular attendee of international conferences, he remains committed to academic growth and innovation in transplant surgery.
Fun Fact- adrenaline Junky (enjoy bungee jumping and skydiving)
Carla Wilmans is the Administrative Unit Head of the Transplant Unit at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (WDGMC). She also manages the Medical and Surgical Faculty Practice, the Colorectal Unit as well as the Clinical Associate body at the hospital.
Carla obtained her B.Pharm (with distinction) from the University of the Witwatersrand and has worked in various sales, marketing and business management roles in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries(Pharmacia, Roche, Amgen and Fresenius Medical Care)
Carla was actively involved in the development and publishing of the Wits Transplant Procurement Handbook and Family Approach to Consent Strategy(FACTS).
She is passionate about working with people and working strategically to implement efficient service delivery and workflow processes to ensure that all patients and families who come through the WDGMC Transplant Unit, Faculty Practice and the Colorectal Unit experience exceptional care.
In her spare time, Carla enjoys playing padel and running.
Jerome worked as the Clinical Head of Paediatric Surgery, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) from 2008 until 2022, and held the position of Academic Head, Department of Paediatric Surgery, Wits, from 2014 to 2023 when his 10 year tenure expired. In 2022 he was appointed Academic Head of Transplantation at Wits, and is the Clinical Head of Transplantation at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (WDGMC). He is in good standing with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Jerome served on the Exco of the South African Association of Paediatric Surgeons (SAAPS) from 2012 to 2024, and was the Vice President of SAAPS from 2016 to 2024. Jerome has also been an active member of the Exco of the College of Paediatric Surgeons of South Africa (CMSA) from 2014 to 2024. Jerome was an Exco member of the South African Transplantation Society (SATS) from 2007 - 2019, Secretary of SATS from 2009 – 2015, and President of SATS for the periods 2015 – 2017, and 2017 – 2019. He is also the founding member and Chairman of the Board of the “Surgeons for Little Lives” charity, this from 2014 to date. In 2023 Jerome was appointed to the Council of St John’s College, Johannesburg.
Jerome was awarded the Swann Morton Research Prize for best trainee publication in 2004, the Oscar Norwich Traveling Fellowship in 2007, and numerous Research Grants. In 2010 he received a Letter of Commendation from Wits, was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2011, to Associate Professor in 2013, and to full Personal Professor in June 2018. In 2016 he was the recipient of the “Exceptional Service” award from the School of Health Sciences. In 2010 President Jacob Zuma awarded him the Presidential Award for “Excellence in Paediatric Surgical Care, Baragwanath Hospital”. In September 2020, Jerome was awarded the “Golden Eagle” Award, by his alma mater, St John’s College, in recognition of his contribution to Paediatric Surgery in South Africa, and the children that he serves. In September 2021, Professor Loveland was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Individual Award for Academic Citizenship by Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand.
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Employer: Netcare Limited
Position: National Emergency Trauma, Transplant, Disaster Management and Corporate Social Investment Manager, Netcare
Qualifications: Dip General Nursing, Dip Midwifery (Honors), Dip Paediatric Nursing Science (Honors), Trauma Nursing (Honors), Hospital Nursing Management, Aviation Health Care Providers, FSA Interaction Management, Dip Medical and Surgical Nursing Trauma (Honors), Dip Medical and Surgical Nursing Critical Care (Honors) MSC Master of Science in Medicine (Emergency Medicine), fEMSSA, fANSA, Graduate Stanford University Compassion Ambassador, advisor on ministerial disaster management committee.
Other positions: Director and Secretary of the Emergency Medicine Society of South Africa, Director Netcare Foundation.
Publications: Disaster Travel Medicine: The South African Rescue mission abroad, Guideline for the assessment of Tauma Centers in South Africa (SAMJ 2011), Transplant Clinical Governance Manual (HQS), Characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized patients in South Africa during the COVID-19 omicron wave compared with previous waves (JAMA 2021),
Current responsibilities: Overall day-to-day management of Netcare Emergency, Trauma Transplant, Corporate Social Investment and Disaster Management Director of the Netcare Foundation NPO PBO.
Dr Francisca van der Schyff trained at the University of Cape Town to obtain her medical degree, with honors, in 2006.
She obtained her specialist qualification as a general surgeon in 2016, cum laude.
She spent an additional 2 years in the department of Paediatric surgery at the University of Pretoria before accepting a training post in transplantation at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical center.
She has since qualified as an abdominal transplant surgeon and is currently working as a full-time consultant within the transplant team at the Donald Gordon Medical Center.
She has previously published on biliary atresia and necrotizing enterocolitis in children and her current field of research include graft tolerance in children post liver transplant. She currently serves as a member of the Vanguard committee of the European Society of Organ Transplantation and President elect of the South African Transplant Society.
Wacky fact: I married my childhood sweetheart!
Full Professor & Head of Clinical Unit of Paediatric Nephrology and Solid Organ Transplantation (including kidney, liver, and heart) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town. She is also the immediate Past president of the International Paediatric Transplantation Society (IPTA) involved in promoting paediatric transplantation worldwide.
Also, immediate Past-President of the South African Paediatric Association (SAPA) dealing specifically with COVID issues in the last 2 years as an important advocacy voice for children She is also a Paediatric Intensive Care (PICU) consultant and on the Saving Young Lives (SYL) Steering Committee. Her other interests include Paediatric Nephrology and care of critically ill children specifically with AKI requiring all forms of Dialysis and Transplant in infants and children.
This includes doing training Fellows and outreach work in various parts of Africa developing paediatric renal and transplant programs as well as Adolescent transition programs.
Wacky Fact: She is also an amateur surfer
