In BiH, hundreds die annually waiting for transplants, is the problem a lack of donors?

(Patria) - Another European Organ Donation Day has passed. The devastating fact remains that in our country, in the 21st century, hundreds of patients die every year waiting for a transplant. And if there were donors, they could have been given a chance at life.

Let us be humane, said reisul-ulema Kavazović and Archbishop Vukšić of Vrhbosna, who called organ donation a good deed. They clearly emphasized that saving a life is not a threat to faith by symbolically signing donor cards.

Adnan Fazlagić fought for his life for five years, after a heart attack took away his freedom of movement. In Slovenia, thanks to a donor, he received a new heart.

“My life from the transplant until today, and hopefully in the future, as much as possible, is exactly the same as for all other people. All my abilities, movement, work abilities have returned. Since 2017, I have been back at work,” he emphasizes for Federal Television.

Marija Jarak from Mostar and Danijela Majstorović from Banja Luka, far from home, received new hearts and a chance at life.

“After five months in Austria, I returned to Mostar and continued my life completely normally,” says Marija.

“My donor was an ideal donor. 15 years younger than me. And if it weren't for his donated stem cells, I wouldn't be alive,” emphasized Danijela.

To save lives, donors are needed, and doctors are happy when they appear. The expert staff, as well as the medical equipment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are not in question, but a functional donation system requires overcoming administrative and social obstacles.

“We haven't had a cadaver donor for nine months, and I think there's a mistake or inactivity, something is happening regarding the so-called transplant coordinators,” says Damir Rebić, head of Nephrology at KCUS.

“In the last ten years, we have had a significant stagnation in this field. I think this is not so much a matter of organization as a matter of disorganization,” assesses Ismet Gavrankapetanović, director of the General Hospital “Prim. dr. Abdulah Nakaš”.

Without active registries, accredited laboratories, and transplant coordinators, there is no progress in this field. Although a team from Spain offered concrete recommendations for improving the system three years ago, including the professionalization of coordinators, they have not yet been implemented.

“We have exerted positive pressure on the FBiH Ministry of Health, which will update the managements in Tuzla and Sarajevo to activate or change, and form new candidates for transplant coordinators who will be more up-to-date,” emphasizes Rebić.

There is no lack of timeliness, nor the will to strengthen transplant medicine. The goal is to join Eurotransplant. After 14 years, a step forward.

“We have managed to send a letter of intent to Eurotransplant that Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a unified state, wants to join the Eurotransplant network,” says Dubravka Bošnjak, Minister of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZBiH).

Access to the prestigious European International Network for Organ Exchange would give hope to citizens waiting for this chance at life. Great expectations are also placed on cooperation with centers in Croatia and Slovenia.

Without system support, there is no donation – says Halima Rešić, president of the Donor Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The support of religious communities is extremely important for reducing prejudices and misconceptions.

“We can classify organ donation in the first category of permanent charity, because it is a permanent good deed that will remain after us, which we dedicate to life by saving people's lives. I believe it is the pinnacle of good deeds we can do,” said Husein ef. Kavazović, reisul-ulema of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Nothing is as great on this earth as serving human life, enabling someone who is endangered, sick, to prolong their life – whether by donating blood or by donating organs. It is truly a noble deed,” emphasized Mons. Tomo Vukšić, Archbishop of Vrhbosna.

Adnan, Marija, and Danijela remind us that every signature on a donor card can initiate a new pulse of life. Many have lost the battle. Humane gestures will save human lives.