From January to November 2021, more than 12,000 organ transplants were performed in Brazil by the Unified Health System (SUS). In 2020, there were about 13,000 procedures. The data were released by the Ministry of Health on Thursday (3).
According to the folder, more than 88% of organ transplants in the country are financed and performed by the SUS.
The number of transplants fell due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 worldwide. Last year, there was an increase in the waiting list in Brazil for organ and corneal transplantation, which rose from 32,909 in 2020 to 34,830.
The country has a national center and 27 state transplant centers. The national transplant system includes 648 hospitals, 1,253 services and 1,664 qualified transplant teams.
The donation can be of organs (kidney, liver, heart, pancreas and lung) or tissue (cornea, skin, bones, heart valves, cartilage, bone marrow and umbilical cord blood). Other organs such as the kidney, part of the liver or bone marrow can be donated during life, the others only occur when there is confirmed brain death or cardiorespiratory arrest.
The donated organs are intended for patients who are waiting on a single list, defined by the Transplant Center of the Health Department of each state, controlled by the National Transplant System (SNT), coordinated by the Ministry of Health.
About 38% of families refuse the donation
In Brazil, organ or tissue donation depends on the authorization of patients’ relatives, which emphasizes the need to communicate to family members the desire to be a donor. According to estimates by the Ministry of Health, about 38.4% of families still refuse organ donation.
Resistance is mainly associated with misinformation about the need to donate bones, tendons, skins, tissues and organs to guarantee the quality of life of other people, in addition to the lack of understanding of what brain death is.
Understand what brain death is
Brain death is an irreversible condition of death of the cells of the central nervous system, which leads to the interruption of blood circulation in the brain. The condition is confirmed from safety and diagnostic protocols.
The medical team must inform family members in a didactic manner that there is no chance of the patient waking up. At this crucial moment for organ donation, the family must be explained how the organ removal procedure works, making it clear that the patient’s body will not undergo any kind of noticeable change.
After the authorization, the organs are removed and the protocol for the transplants begins, which requires agility. After removal, they should be implanted in patients as soon as possible.
According to the Ministry of Health, the main diseases that lead to transplantation are extensive myocardial infarction, severe arterial hypertension, Chagas disease, pulmonary emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, liver and alcoholic cirrhosis, malignant tumors and diabetes.
Brain-dead patients can donate kidneys, heart, lung, pancreas, liver, intestine, corneas, valves, muscles, bones, tendons, skin, cartilage, bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, veins and arteries.
Transplant from a living donor
Transplants can also be performed from living donors. The donation can be one of the kidneys, part of the liver, part of the marrow or part of the lungs.
The surgery can only be done by people aged 18 or over to family members. If there is no relationship, prior judicial authorization is required.
The donation depends on the evaluation of the donor’s clinical history and previous diseases, in addition to blood compatibility.
Source: CNN Brasil