Transplant Patients Warn about Lack of Donors

Ljubljana, 11 October

Transplant, an association of patients with transplanted organs, highlighted the problems this field of medicine is facing in Slovenia at a press conference in Ljubljana on Thursday to mark the European and world days of organ donation and transplantation.

According to Alfonz Drevensek, there are only 15 donors per one million people in Slovenia. There are currently 95 people waiting for an organ transplant, but there have been only ten new donors so far this year.
Drevensek explained that of the 20 kidneys from Slovenian donors, only 16 were transplanted in Slovenia, the others were included in the Eurotransplant exchange project. According to the Institute for Transplantation of Organs and Tissues, there were 48 kidney transplants in Slovenia in 2006, while seven patients received a new heart, and eight received a new liver.
Slovenians generally react positively to transplants, since only 15% to 30% of relatives turned it down, explained Andrej Gadzijev, the main coordinator at the Institute for Transplantation of Organs and Tissues.
According to Gadzijev, the main flaws in the existing system were overworked staff, the system of remuneration, as well as lack of space and time, since intensive care units were crammed.
Andrej Pitako, a legal expert working for Transplant, said the legislation could not regulate the field perfectly. He said that Spain, although a very religious country, was the most successful country in this field, since people did not have prejudice against transplants, while the church even advised its members to donate organs.
According to the Institute for Transplantation of Organs and Tissues, there were only 100 potential donors in Slovenia in February 2007. While donors primarily respond to open appeals by patients or their relatives, they are also registered as donors in a special register.

Transplant Patients Warn about Lack of Donors

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