Will we have a hot autumn: Patients close to deciding to protest

(Patria) - Members of the Management Board of the Association of Dialyzed and Transplanted Patients of FBiH, during a phone session, expressed their outrage due to the catastrophic state in dialysis centers and especially due to the drastically low number of transplants this year.

As they pointed out, only 11 transplants were performed in 2025, which is three times less than in 2024. The biggest problem is so-called cadaveric transplants – only one deceased donor was recorded this year, while there were seven last year.

"It is not difficult to conclude that the Federal Ministry of Health, as well as the managers and doctors in our clinical centers, have almost completely neglected transplantation as a method of treatment. Transplantation saves the lives of severely ill patients, and at the same time represents a great saving for the health budget," the Association stated.

Dialysis patients, they add, are also facing poor treatment conditions – lack of medication, use of cheaper substitutes, insufficient availability of modern equipment, as well as a shortage of medical staff.

They also specifically highlight the fact that the Federal Ministry of Health initiated changes to the regulations on dialysis conditions back in May 2023 and formed a commission, which has never met in more than two years.

"This only tells us that we are forgotten and left to our own devices, which is unacceptable and we can no longer tolerate it," they state.

The Association announces that at the next Assembly, planned for next month, they will consider patients protesting in front of the competent institutions.

"This is not a threat, but an expression of our anger and a plea from those for whom organ transplantation is the only chance for life," they concluded in the statement.