In addition to the procedures performed at the Chair and Department of General and Transplantation Surgery, which account for as many as 41% of all procedures in Poland, 11 kidneys were harvested at the Department of General, Vascular and Transplant Surgery UCC MUW (Banacha Hospital), 3 of which were transplanted at the same center, and 8 of those harvested were transplanted at the Children's Health Center. This means that nationwide 56% of all living donor kidney transplants were performed at both MUW departments. In addition to MUW, they took place at nine other centers: in Gdańsk (7), Wrocław (6), Szczecin (5), Łódź (4), Bydgoszcz (3), Katowice (2), Kraków (2), Poznań (2) and Warsaw at the MSW (1). These numbers clearly show that MUW is the undisputed leader in transplants of this kind.
Kidney harvest and transplantation from living donors would not be possible if healthy volunteers did not decide to help a loved one. - This is the best method of treating end-stage renal failure - emphasizes Piotr Domagała, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Chair and Department of General and Transplantation Medicine at the Infant Jesus Clinical Hospital UCC MUW. - All kidney donations at our Department were performed completely laparoscopically, i.e. using a minimally invasive technique. The goal of the Department's team is to constantly increase the number of such transplants. Continuing education and changing the awareness of kidney failure patients and their families, as well as professional activation of doctors, will contribute to thoughtful, informed organ donation.
Despite the fact that the number of organ donations from living donors is growing every year, we are still far from European leaders. In Poland, 1.4-1.5 such transplants are performed per million inhabitants (1.92 in 2022), in the Netherlands - 31.8/million, Turkey - 30.3/million, in Denmark - 19.6/million, and in the UK - 17.3/million. Organ donation from a living donor saves patients with end-stage renal failure, which is why education is so important to help shape positive attitudes toward transplantation.
The record number of kidney donations and transplants from living donors in 2022 at the Chair and Department of General and Transplant Surgery and the Department of General, Vascular and Transplant Surgery UCC MUW would not have taken place without the commitment and hard work of a team of doctors (nephrologists, radiologists, anesthesiologists, surgeons), nurses, instrumenting nurses, laboratory diagnosticians and transplant coordinators. The two UCC MUW departments involved in kidney procurement and transplantation have an excellent staff of specialists who are constantly expanding their competencies. Excellent technical facilities and outstanding scientific potential allow us to make optimistic plans for the future.
