Four out of five donor hearts for children come from abroad
Published: Saturday, Aug 24th 2024, 02:30
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Four out of five donor hearts for children have recently been imported from abroad. Not least because of this, the mortality rate of children who are dependent on a donor heart has fallen to 15 percent, as Franz Immer, Director of Swisstransplant, said.
When Immer started at Swisstransplant around 16 years ago, the mortality rate for children who needed a donor heart was still 80 percent. The director of the national foundation for organ donation and transplantation said this in an interview with the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper on Saturday.
Between 350 and 400 organs are listed on the European platform of the European allocation organization Foedus every year, said Immer. The most common organs are hearts, followed by lungs and livers. The organization was founded because it is often not possible to find a recipient, especially for children in their own country.
Transportation for a maximum of four hours
Switzerland imported 45 organs and exported 26 organs last year, said Immer. The aim is for exports and imports to balance each other out. Transporting an organ costs around 20,000 francs, depending on the distance. "In the case of a heart, transportation should take no more than four hours," said Immer.
To put the figure into perspective: According to Immer, a heart transplant costs around 150,000 francs and a kidney transplant a good 60,000 francs. Dialysis, on the other hand, costs 100,000 francs a year. "With 300 transplants, the potential savings amount to half a billion francs per year," Immer calculated.
All-time high for organ donations in Switzerland
Last year, more organs were donated in Switzerland than ever before. A total of 675 people on the waiting list received an urgently needed organ in 2023.
In 2022, the Swiss electorate approved the so-called extended opt-out solution. It is expected to come into force in 2026. After that, all people who have not refused to donate their organs during their lifetime will be considered organ donors. The relatives of a person can still prevent the removal of organs.
©Keystone/SDA
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