Organ Transplantation Numbers Increase as 12,000 Operations Are Performed

Hungary Today 2024.02.22.

The number of organ donations, and as a result, the number of organ transplants in Hungary, continued to rise last year, writes Magyar Nemzet. More kidney, liver, and heart transplants were performed in 2023, than in the previous year, the Organ Coordination Office of the Hungarian National Blood Transfusion Service (OVSZ) revealed, adding that last year, the 12,000th transplantation was performed in Hungary.

It was pointed out that last year, the OVSZ received 186 donor applications from 44 hospitals, and 131 donations from deceased organ donors were transplanted across 38 hospitals.

In cooperation with Eurotransplant, 85 foreign donor organs were transplanted in Hungary, including 55 kidneys, 16 livers, 11 hearts, one pancreas and two lungs.

According to the summary, of the 409 transplants, 265 were kidney transplants, of which the largest number, 148, were performed at Semmelweis University. Heart transplants were performed 52 times last year. In addition, there were 11 lung transplants surgeries at Semmelweis University in 2023. 11 combined kidney and pancreas transplants were also performed, nine at Semmelweis University and two at the University of Pécs. 70 liver transplants were also completed.

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Last year, 1,791 patients were on the transplant waiting list, 536 new patients were added to the list, and at the end of the year, 1,248 patients were waiting for life-saving surgery.

The shortest waiting time is 0.72 years for lung transplant patients.

For heart and liver transplants, the average waiting time is 0.84 and 0.87 years respectively. The average waiting time for combined kidney and pancreas transplants is 2.79 years, and for kidney transplants 3.16 years.

Fact

Organ donation is a series of events from the identification of a potential donor to the start of the transplantation process. Signs of brain death or loss of brain stem function are detected by health professionals and the donor is notified. The donor notification triggers the organ donation process, meaning that the organ is retrieved within about 18 hours of the first call. This is when the race against time begins: donor organs must be in the operating theaters of transplant centers by a certain date. The Organ Coordination Office is responsible for coordinating the tasks and organizing the donation. However, the coordinator also has to check that the deceased person has not made a declaration of objection during his or her lifetime and that there are no medical reasons for exclusion, such as infection or cancer, as only healthy organs can be transplanted. The organs to be transplanted are preserved in a special solution, then placed in three sterile bags, each layer sealed with liquid, and transported between melting ice to the transplant center. Once the immunological type of the organs is known, the transplant centers notify the patients on the list who are suitable for the procedure.

In Hungary, the principle of presumed consent is applied, meaning that in the absence of a written declaration, the legislator presumes the consent of the deceased.

There are two types of donor: the brain-dead donor, and the living donor, who is a relative of the recipient.

Living donor transplantation is only possible for kidney and liver procedures.

If there is no family link between the donor and the recipient, but a close emotional connection between them, organ donation is also possible. In this case, the donor and the recipient can make a joint application, examined by the hospital’s ethics committee.

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Via Magyar Nemzet; Featured image via Pexels