Newsroom / CNA
Cypriots are among the first in the European Union for kidney donation whereas they appear rather reluctant to donate organs of a deceased person for transplant, according to data from the Transplant Council.
The Council says that approximately 2,600 deaths are reported in Cyprus hospitals annually. This figure includes some 25 deceased who could have been potential donors.
Τhe same data shows that between February 2011 and mid-2017, 168 people underwent transplants, 44 of whom received organs from dead donors and 124 from living donors.
The Head of the Transplant Council Olga Kalakoutas pointed out that people with organ deficiencies are given a second chance in life through transplant operations. She said however that waiting lists are long because of lack of organ donors.
The first kidney transplant in Cyprus dates back to 1986. Nowadays a modern, high-level transplant clinic operates at the Nicosia General Hospital since 2011.
As regards transplants from dead donors, Kalakoutas said that in 2015 there was a kidney transplant from post-mortem donation, four in 2016 and 10 in 2017.
She said the Council was taking action to raise awareness and increase organ donations.
Dr Constantinos Fellas, a member of the Council, said that the results of an islandwide survey show that only 2% of the participants knew that the Council is the responsible body in Cyprus for organ transplants and 36% said that living donors can only be found among close relatives. Four out of ten believe that an organ can be bought.
According to the findings of the survey, only 32% of the participants knew that the relatives of the deceased need to give their consent for an organ to be transplanted.
Moreover, a small percentage of participants believe that the liver (15%) and the lungs (3%) can be transplanted from live donors.
Nine out of ten know about kidney transplants, 80% know that the operations are done in Cyprus and 76% know that transplants take place from live donors.
