Meet Lieven Lenaerts, perfusionist for Perfusion Experts
We are happy to welcome back Lieven Lenaerts! He graduated as a nurse in 2006. During one of his final internships in the operating room for cardiac surgery at UZ Leuven, he was introduced to perfusion. Patrick Janssens, also known as “Pitou,” one of the “perfusion dinosaurs,” captivated him with fascinating explanations, sparking his interest in the field.
In 2007, he began working as a nurse in the Cathlab. Although his passion was already geared toward cardiac surgery and perfusion, no vacancies were available at the time. Determined to pursue his interest, he enrolled in the course “Basic Knowledge in Extracorporeal Techniques” at KUL. At the beginning of 2008, he secured a position in the perfusion department at UZ Leuven. In 2010, he earned certification from the European Board and continued working in perfusion until the end of 2021.
Due to family circumstances, he decided it was time for a new challenge and transitioned to a role as a coordinator at the tissue bank of UZ Leuven. During this “perfusion break,” he completed the training “Tissue Banking and Advanced Therapies” at the Transplantation and Donation Institute (TDI) in Barcelona. For three years, alongside his colleagues, he managed the collection, processing, and distribution of human body material in Belgium.
However, at the beginning of 2024, his passion for perfusion resurfaced, and he connected with “Perfusion Experts.” He initially worked part-time as an independent perfusionist in Brussels. By the end of the summer, he decided to make this his main profession, and he now works as an independent perfusionist in Brussels and France.
