Committee Members
Clare Ecuyer
Chair
Lead Nurse Renal Transplant, Viral Hepatitis & NORS
The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Clare Ecuyer, RGN, has made significant contributions to the field of transplantation since graduating in Adult General Nursing from the University of Leeds in 2000. Her initial five years at the Transplant Unit, St. James’s University Hospital, Leeds, provided a strong clinical foundation for her subsequent 20 years in co-ordination roles encompassing live donation and renal recipient pathways.
In her current role as Lead Nurse for Renal Transplantation, Viral Hepatitis, and NORS at Leeds Teaching Hospitals (since 2021), Clare combines strategic leadership with ongoing clinical practice in paediatrics and participation in the on-call service. Her specialist knowledge in en bloc organ donation and renal transplantation has been crucial in the development of national guidelines.
Clare is an engaged member of the Organ Donor Committee and has dedicated over 15 years to educating future medical professionals through her leadership of the Renal Transplant Body Systems programme at the University of Leeds. Her commitment to the transplant nursing community is further demonstrated by her role as a Council member for the Chapter of Nurses, British Transplantation Society, since March 2024.
Lucy Dames
Co-chair
Lead Nurse –Organ Donation
London Organ Donation Services
NHS Blood & Transplant
Lucy qualified as an Adult Nurse from York University in 2006. Having working in critical care and trauma in London for several years she was exposed to caring for patients who went on to become organ donors and also for transplant patients on occasion. This led her to a career in organ donation and in 2011 she joined NHS Blood & Transplant as a Specialist Nurse in Organ donation (SNOD) in the South West of England. In 2016 she moved back to London as a SNOD and shortly afterwards took on the then newly formed role of Specialist Requester –focusing on the approach to families for consent to organ donation proceeding. Since 2020 Lucy has been one of the Team Managers for organ donation in London and is the lead for equality, diversity and inclusion.
Lucy has a keen interest in supporting nurses to instigate, evaluate and develop advancements in their practice. She is a strong advocate for the use of social media to network, peer review, educate and engage.
Christopher Boulding
Specialist Transplant & Cardiac Surgery Physiotherapist
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
christopher.boulding@nhs.net
Chris Boulding is a specialist physiotherapist at Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, with eight years of experience working in the NHS and the past three years in cardiothoracic services at Papworth. He has spent the last 18 months as part of the dedicated transplant physiotherapy team, specialising in heart and lung transplantation. His clinical interests focus on prehabilitation and post-transplant rehabilitation, supporting patients to optimise outcomes across the transplant pathway.
As a new member of the British Transplant Society Nursing and AHP Chapter, Chris is passionate about inclusion and multidisciplinary collaboration. He is committed to amplifying nursing and allied health professional voices and encouraging colleagues to engage in research, share best practice, and present their work at congress to strengthen the contribution of AHPs within transplant care.
Joanna James
Transplant Co-ordinator,
The Leeds Teaching Hospitals
joanna.james3@nhs.net
I completed my paediatric nurse training at Salford University in 1999. Over the past 25 years since qualification, I have worked in three different paediatric renal units across the UK; Pendlebury Childrens Hospital in Manchester, Evelina Childrens Hospital in London, and the Leeds Teaching Hospital. I also spent a brief period working at the Starship Childrens Hospital in New Zealand.
My experience to date covers working as a Staff Nurse then Sister on the renal inpatient wards and on the haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis units.
I have also worked as a paediatric renal clinical nurse specialist within the Evelina Childrens Hospital and Leeds teaching Hospital with a primary role in post-transplant care.
In 2017 I joined the Renal Transplant Co-ordinator team as a live donor co-ordiantor. Within this role I take the lead for the paediatric caseload in Leeds for both the live donors and the paediatric recipients. I also participate in the on-call rota where I deal with transplantation in the acute setting.
This post has given me the opportunity to lead on several successful media campaigns for patients which required liaising with NHSBT and the trust communication team. I am confident in handling media enquiries and providing statements to interested stakeholders and local and national news co-operations. I am currently a member of a national working group that is currently looking at social media appeals to develop national guidlienes.
I am currently involved with meetings to look at the viability of service provision for paediatric renal patients overseas to travel to the United Kingdom for transplantation.
I am the nursing representation within Kidney Advisory Group Paediatric Subgroup.
I have recently been accepted by NHS England to be the nursing representative for paediatric renal transplant to assist in the design and implementation of a model of care to design and implement solutions around some of the challenges faced by services.
I have extensive experience in the field of live donation and paediatric transplantation and associated therapies and modalities.
Alison Smith
Transplant Nurse Practitioner,
Oxford Transplant Centre
I am a Transplant Nurse Practitioner, currently working at the Oxford Transplant Centre. I qualified in 1993 and moved into renal care and transferred to the world of transplantation in 1996. I help care for patients following solid organ abdominal transplant. This includes pancreas, kidney, islets, intestinal, abdominal wall, and any combination of the above. Working as an autonomous practitioner, I provide a nurse-led clinic and triage service in conjunction with my medical colleagues, for patients and primary care service providers.
My role is multi-faceted in providing an outreach service to our patients, managing the outpatient clinic flow, and assisting in providing 24-hour cover for the on-call recipient transplant service. I am team leader for the post-transplant Nurse Practitioners and currently working towards an Msc in Advanced Nursing Practice.
An area of interest for me is intestinal transplantation for the palliative treatment for pseudomyxoma peritonei patients, and their subsequent journey and challenges. The psychological and emotional roller-coaster journey this patient group travel is immense and being their support is both a challenge and an honour.
I am excited to be joining the Chapter of Nurses committee within the BTS and to be a voice for nurses working within transplantation and promote our research and development to a wider audience.
Sarah Mason
National Professional Development Specialist Nurse
NHS Blood and Transplant
sarah.mason@nhsbt.nhs.uk
Sarah qualified as an adult nurse from Liverpool John Moores University in 2005 before moving to London to begin her nursing career in cardiology and subsequently cardiothoracic intensive care.
Her career in organ donation began in 2014 when she joined NHS Blood and Transplant as a Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation (SNOD) within the London team. Driven by a passion for education and professional development, Sarah became the Professional Development Specialist Nurse (PDSN) for London in 2018. In 2021, she moved into a national PDSN role, where she leads on the design and development of education focused on donor management and optimisation.
Sarah completed the International Master in Donation and Transplantation of Organs, Tissues and Cells at the Donation and Transplantation Institute and is currently pursuing a Health Professions Education MSc at University College London (UCL). She has presented Nationally and internationally at conferences and universities. Sarah is committed to advancing donor management and optimisation through high‑quality education, collaborative practice, and inclusive professional development.
Melanie Philips
Transplant Coordinator Royal Infirmary Edinburgh
Honorary Lecturer Edinburgh University.
Melanie.Phillips@nhs.scot
A registered Nurse for over 30 years with experience in Surgical specialities, assessment and latterly as a specialist nurse for Renal and Pancreas Transplantation. She Trained and practiced as a nurse practitioner in assessment and for the past 14 years has been working as a Transplant Coordinator providing on- call services for NHSBT organ donation. She Also practices as a Wellness Therapist at NHSLothian.
Her Specialist field in Transplant Coordination is pancreas and islet transplant and she has completed a PhD in Nursing with a focus on transitions and suffering in chronic illness in the context of transplantation. She is involved in teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate nurses with an Associate Fellow teaching award and honorary lectureship at Edinburgh University.
She currently holds a clinical/academic partnership with Edinburgh University. Melanie and her academic partner founded the Scottish Nursing Transplant Network which provides support, inspiration, education and community for all nurses who work in or are interested in the field of Transplantation.
Melanie promotes Nursing Science as a speciality and continues to work to provide platforms for nurses voices to be heard and integrated within professional practice.
Diana Ledesma
Nurse Peri Operative Practitioner
Oxford NORS Team
diana.ledesma@ouh.nhs.uk
Diana started her nursing career in the Philippines in 2004. She was exposed to the different aspects of Organ Donation and Transplantation. She had been assigned to the ward, where she took care of both donors and recipients of organs. Thereafter, she worked in theatres where she participated in a number of organ retrieval and transplantation. From 2009, she worked as a Transplant Coordinator and was involved in promoting organ donation and in helping recipients through their transplant journey. She was also involved in a research study that was published and presented in an international conference.
In 2016, she moved to the United Kingdom, and her interest in Organ donation and transplantation reignited when she applied to be one of the members of the Oxford National Organ Retrieval Services (NORs) which she is currently a member of.
Diana is delighted to work in collaboration with other committee members and share her own experiences and expertise in the field.
