Romania, second to last place in Europe in organ donation

At European level, Romania is in the penultimate place in organ donation, while the needs are growing. Although technically we have a functional program for 25 years - with legislation and institutions for the functioning of this activity, the problem remains with the participation of the population, because very few people decide during their lifetime to register on the donor list. According to specialists, organs donated from one person can save up to eight lives, and tissues can improve the lives of many others.

Currently, over 4.000 patients are on the waiting lists for a transplant and, although there are over 40 centers and hospitals accredited for organ harvesting, only a part of them actively contribute to the National Transplant Program. The centers in Oradea, Baia Mare and Bucharest are considered the most efficient, while Arad is in the last places, with only three agreements in recent years.

Reporter: In Romania, the lives of thousands of people depend on an act of supreme solidarity - organ donation. In Arad County, the number of donors is at a worryingly low level.

-: Yes, it is very important, we can save many people.
-: I think it is especially beneficial for patients who need a transplant in order to be able to live, to have hope for life.
-: The Church has practiced such organ transplantation since the 4th century. The holy doctors Cosmas and Damian took a leg from a dead man and put it in a living man, thus practically performing a kind of organ transplant.
-: I think they are not informed.
-: People are not reluctant; people are not well informed about what organ donation means. They don't know what it truly means, what the legal procedure is.

The lack of information in the field is a major problem - says Gheorghe Tache, president of the Romanian Transplant Association.

Gheorghe Tache: The biggest problem we face at national level is the lack of information.

Translated by: Radu Matei