Over 30 organ transplants carried out in Moldova last year

Chisinau, 13 October /MOLDPRES/- More than 30 organ transplants were carried out in the Republic of Moldova last year. The data were presented today at the conference organized on the occasion of the European Organ Donation and Transplantation Day.

Attending the event, Minister of Health, Labor and Social Protection Silvia Radu said that progress has been made in the Republic of Moldova in recent years.

"In 1960, the first transplant was carried out in the Republic of Moldova. It's a bone transplant. Later, in 1982, the first kidney transplant was performed. For a long period in our country there was no legal framework and institution to deal with this area, but in 2008 the Law on Transplantation of Organs, Tissues and Human Cells was adopted, and in 2010 the Transplant Agency was created. At the same time, with the support of external partners, doctors were trained both in the country and abroad. We want continuous information from doctors and citizens, aware of the importance of donations and transplantation to save lives," she said.

For his part, Director of the Transplant Agency Igor Codreanu said that the current legislative framework in the field needs to be improved in order to achieve progress in donations and transplants.

"In Moldova, more than 65% of the population support the donation and accept it, and 88% have requested more information about donation and transplantation. Last year, over 135,000 transplant operations were performed worldwide and 14,000 people died while on waiting lists. We need to realize that there can be no transplant without donor, so we need to go to the regional hospitals to discuss with the doctors and people there about transplantation and its importance. We have very good results when transplant patients live an active life, continue to work and enjoy life, and this is the most important," Codereanu said.

Today, on the occasion of the European Organ Donation and Transplantation Day, a march for life will be organized, the Donor Monument will be inaugurated and a Donor Alley will be opened.

According to the Ministry of Health data, through organ donation, a person can save eight lives, and by donating tissues can save 100 people.

In 2011-2017, in Moldova, nearly 1,400 transplant operations were performed. These are renal, tissue, bone, tendon and ligament transplants, nerves, skin, cornea, and amniotic membranes.

(Reporter A. Ciobanu, editor A. Răileanu)