Sewing for life in La Ciotat
In her work as a seamstress at the Getinge production site in the French city of La Ciotat, Aurélia Lungu does not count how many polyester vascular grafts she sews per day, she counts the number of patient treatments she enables.
For eight years, Aurélia Lungu has been a seamstress at Getinge in La Ciotat, France, as part of the team producing quality polyester grafts and patches to treat aortic and peripheral vascular diseases.
“It starts with a reel of thread and finishes with a high-quality medical device, a vascular graft used in the treatment of hundreds of patients per day. That’s how I summarize my days; by thinking of how many potential patients each newly created solution can reach,” says Aurélia.
There are many crucial steps along the way, before the thread turns into a graft, and Aurélia’s part is in the sewing area. As a senior seamstress she is both a sewer and a coordinator of a team in the sewing workshop, which achieves a manufacturing plan.
“As with many other parts of the production, our work is located in a clean room. This is a strict and controlled environment where we are fully gowned with protective clothing. We sew different types of polyester graft parts together to produce specialty grafts for surgeons. It’s a detailed handicraft where you need to be very accurate.”
Since the production site ramped up capacity to better meet the global demands for these solutions, days have been getting busier for Aurélia and her colleagues, but this is something they welcome as the solutions will reach more patients in need.
“At Getinge, we always have our brand promise ‘Passion For Life’ close to heart and I am happy to be part of that. I love my job, and the fact that I am part of improving people’s health definitely bring everything to a whole other level. It makes me feel like I am contributing to something truly meaningful.”