What is the condition of Polish transplantology?

Transplantology in Europe is faring much better than in Poland

Transplantation is one of the life-saving methods for patients who are struggling with extreme organ failure. The organs used during the operation come mainly from donors who have been declared brain dead. From living donors, not only kidneys but also liver fragments are taken. Unfortunately, the number of such procurements is relatively low[3]. In 2022, only 73 kidney transplants and 28 liver fragment transplants using living donor organs were performed in Poland. In the same period, 12,740 people were waiting for a kidney transplant, 1,797 were waiting for a liver fragment transplant and 51 needed both organs[4]. The rate of kidney transplants from living donors in Poland is 0.8 per million inhabitants. This is one of the lowest scores in Europe. For comparison, in the Czech Republic such operations are performed three times more often. In Germany, the frequency is seven times higher, and in the Netherlands – 27 times higher[5]. The main problem with kidney transplants is the lack of education about transplantation of this organ[6].

More public awareness about living donor transplants needed

The Central Clinical Hospital is a well-known transplant centre that uses Famed OPTIMA operating tables on a daily basis.

Transplantology – too few facilities report potential organ donors

Unfortunately, the situation is no better in the case of organ transplants from deceased donors. For example, in 2022 in Poland, organs were procured for transplantation from 445 deceased donors. This is only 12 deceased donors per one million inhabitants[8]. Only 150 hospitals, out of 400 facilities with the competence to recognise potential donors, report patients diagnosed with brainstem death.

Anyone can be a potential organ donor after death

Obviously, there is a principle of presumed consent to organ donation in Poland. A person who does not object to organ donation may become a donor after death. In most cases, before reporting a potential donor, the decision is discussed with the family to confirm the will of the deceased. Based on Poltransplant data from 2021, only 15 % of families did not agree to the option of organ donation[10]. This shows that the main barrier to the number of reported donors is the lack of awareness that a given patient could become a donor. There are still intensive care units in Poland that have not identified a single case of brain death in a patient over the years[11]. In conclusion, let us have a look at the statistics.

Poltransplant data on the number of transplants performed in the years 2007-2021. (Source: https://www.poltransplant.org.pl).

Successes of Polish transplantologists

The data presented by Poltransplant, covering the number of transplants performed since 2007, show that the number of transplants is slowly increasing from year to year. From 1966 until the end of 2022, 38,288 procedures of that type were performed in Poland[12]. National transplant centres are expanding with new facilities with modern medical equipment. The Clinical Department of Heart Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support at Jan Mikulicz-Radecki University Hospital in Wroclaw, established in January 2021, performed as many as 40 successful heart transplants in one year[13].

Innovative liver transplantation surgery

The role played by qualified medical staff and the commitment shown by transplantation teams are invaluable. A perfect example of such charisma is the recent innovative liver transplantation surgery using prior perfusion under normothermia. The method significantly reduces the risk of the transplanted organ failing to function. Placing the organ in a special machine makes it possible to examine the parameters of blood flow in the liver and observe it outside the human body. The surgery carried out by a team of transplantation surgeons led by prof. Michał Grat at the Department of General, Transplantation and Liver Surgery at the University Clinical Centre of the Medical University of Warsaw (UCK WUM) was the first of its kind performed in Poland[14]. The Central Clinical Hospital, which is part of the UCK WUM, is a well-known transplantation centre that uses Famed Żywiec operating tables on a daily basis.

Surgery performed at the Central Clinical Hospital with the use of the Famed OPTIMA carbon operating table.