Increasing Global Organ Transplants: A Closer Look at the Impact

Health

According to the Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation (GODT), a total of 144,302 organ transplants were performed worldwide in 2021, representing an increase of 11.3% compared to 2020.

By Liliana Alvarado

One of the most painful experiences of my life was when my father was diagnosed with cancer. News like this is devastating for anyone. However, I immediately had to draw strength from unknown dimensions to face fears, absorb medical information to make decisions and convey to him that everything was going to “be fine.” It was unthinkable to share my anguish and sadness with him.

At that time, my mother was accompanying my sister abroad and my father and I, alone, visited several offices in search of the doctor and the treatment that would inspire the greatest confidence in us. The doctors we went to gave us several options, some were as opposite and radical as “doing nothing” and resorting to palliative care, to having a liver transplant. Among the alternatives they gave us, the latter was very unlikely due to various factors, including my father’s seventy years of age (younger candidates are privileged), the size of the sum of his tumors, the difficulty of find a donor, among many others. So, without this option in mind, he began the chosen treatment to the letter.

Fortunately, the techniques implemented on their tumors were successful, so they decreased as planned. My father responded well to his ablations and little by little the stars aligned until the moment when his doctor told us that, given his progress, it was possible to consider a liver transplant. At first I didn’t know how to deal with this news. In my family we had not had an experience like that, nor among close friends. I had no one to turn to for advice in this regard and had little confidence in the optimism that doctors usually have about operations and recovery processes, which in most cases are more difficult and time-consuming than they suggest. Along with the implications of having my father undergo such an operation at his age, the likelihood of his body rejecting the new organ also had to be considered.. There was no security of any kind.

With the information we had at hand, my father decided to take that path and give himself the opportunity to start a new life. He himself initiated and overcame the endless bureaucratic procedures. There were so many that he even lost the opportunity to accept a liver, the paperwork had not been completed and we were not clear about when it would happen.

I remember that one day I was participating in Eduardo Ruiz Healy’s radio program, when I received a message that said “I think they don’t want to worry you, but your dad is already in the hospital.” I immediately took off the microphone and ran out of the studio. The people around me knew that the news would be given at any moment and it was just a matter of waiting.

Five years have passed since that operation and fortunately my father is healthy and happy today.. We are eternally grateful to the family and the donor. The possibility of giving thanks is figurative, since the entire process is done in complete anonymity. It should be noted that sometimes the decision to donate organs and tissues is made by the family and on other occasions by the living donor. In this case we don’t know who took it either.

According to the Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation (GODT), a total of 144,302 organ transplants were performed worldwide in 2021, representing an increase of 11.3% compared to 2020. The most frequently donated organs are the kidneys, followed by the liver, heart and lungs. Likewise, the countries with the highest donation rates are Spain and the United States.

Mexico City, followed by the State of Mexico, are the entities with the most registered donors at the country level, More than 70% of voluntary donors are women. In Mexico, during 2022, 6,033 organ and tissue transplants, which represented an increase of 40% compared to 2021. This is undoubtedly good news, however, according to the National Transplant Center (CENATRA), as of today there are 19,670 patients waiting for an organ or tissue.

As a family member of a person who survived a disease like cancer thanks to a transplant, I can affirm that In Mexico there is still a lack of information and awareness about the benefits and processes associated with organ donation. There are many people who would like to donate their organs and tissues and do not know how to do it. Although it is difficult for this task to become a government priority, it does not hurt to also think about raising awareness among our rulers. At every opportunity, we must reinforce the message: donation saves lives without distinction and it is in our hands to give hope to one or several families.

The opinions expressed are the responsibility of their authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of Opinion 51.

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