Bulgaria has refused to take 40 organs for transplantation from Romania from 2021 until now, BNT reported.
The medical facilities that perform such operations have rejected offers from our northern neighbor. The data of "Medical supervision" show that under an agreement signed in 2021, Bulgaria gave Romania 25 organs and took only 1 - against the background of 823 waiting and the few donor situations in our country.
In June this year, Greece offered livers through the organ exchange platform "Foedos". The VMA says it will take him as a patient in serious condition, but later refuses, arguing that the woman has improved. The hospital explained in a written position.
"On the one hand, the distance at which the donor was located – the time for its transport to the BMA - exceeds the ischemic time, which is critical and must be acted upon quickly, because any delay increases the risks of organ damage. In addition, the donor was clinically dead twice, with prolonged episodes of hypotension, which is a contraindication and makes it absolutely marginal and inapplicable to a patient at such a distance and in such a condition.
The time for liver transplantation is between 6 and 8 hours after collection, and for heart - about 4 hours. In "St. Catherine" hospital a heart taken from Romania was transplanted last year. Medics flew to Bucharest. The trip there and back took about 2 hours.
"Explantation half an hour and transplantation - about an hour and something. A little over 4 hours, but we managed to implement this transplant", explained Prof. Dimitar Petkov - director of UMBAL "St. Ekaterina".
From "Saint Catherine" have refused two hearts from Romania because the organs were too far from Sofia.
"The ischemic time of the heart is about 4 hours. After the fourth hour, the risk for the recipient becomes extremely high," explained Prof. Dimitar Petkov - Director of UMBAL "St. Ekaterina".
Last Sunday, Hungarian doctors flew to Plovdiv to take a heart, for which no suitable patient could be found in our country.
From "Alexandrovska" hospital, where they transplant kidneys, claim that they have not been offered organs from Romania. The "Lozenets" hospital, where liver and kidney transplants are performed, did not respond to our inquiry. And in some cases...
"We call potential recipients. They say: "Well now I feel good and refuse to come. Some of them say: "Well, the heart belongs to a 58-year-old, I am 28 years old. This is also an occasion to give up", pointed out Prof. Dimitar Petkov - director of UMBAL "St. Ekaterina".
In other cases, there is no one suitable for transplantation in our country due to administrative problems.
"Regulations regarding those in need of transplants are not being updated. And sometimes it happens that the recipient, who is suitable physically and clinically, can no longer be transplanted", commented Galya Kondeva - Acting Minister of Health.
"They are in dire straits because no one is telling them that they have co-existing, emerging diseases that they need to track and treat in time. In order to carry out a transplant, the patient must be in the best possible condition," said Hristina Nikolova - president of the Association of Patients with Kidney Diseases.
It is the duty of 38 hospitals in the country to update the health status of those waiting for a transplant. The Minister of Health explained that there were also other organizational problems.
"This is in conjunction with the coordinators at local levels. Somehow, reports are made later," explained Dr. Galya Kondeva - Acting Minister of Health.
Hristina Nikolova - president of the Association of Patients with Kidney Diseases
"Donation coordinators are the last ones to blame, because neither recipient tracking nor care depends on them. Nor do they have much of a chance of establishing brain death when the medical facility has no commercial interest in declaring one.
"Medical supervision" plans to train donation coordinators.