More than 400 patients in need of an organ transplant are on the waiting list in the departments of Atlántico, Bolívar, La Guajira, Magdalena and Sucre, which make up Regional No. 5 of the Organ Donation and Transplant Network. and Fabrics coordinated by the Atlantic Government, through the departmental Health Secretariat.
The Secretariat reported that during the first half of 2024, 40 alerts were notified of possible patients in a condition of brain death, who were in Intensive Care Units.
The behavior of donors in recent years recorded by the health authority through the Undersecretary of Health Social Security Advice and Assistance indicates that so far in 2024 there have been 9 donors; While in all of 2023 there were 14, in 2022 they reached 15 and in 2021 there were 7, which shows an increasing rate of donations, however, in the opinion of the undersecretary, Rosmery Wehedeking, it is insufficient for the demand of patients waiting for an organ or tissue to save or improve your life.
For this reason, he made the call to “donate life”, registering easily on the National Institute of Health (INS) page through its website, at the link: https://apps.ins.gov.co/ MeatDonors/Aspx/Registry/frmDonante.aspx
Wehedeking reported that currently in Regional 5, that is, in the departments of Atlántico, Bolívar, La Guajira, Magdalena and Sucre, there are 426 patients on the waiting list, of which 410 require a kidney transplant, 15 an eye transplant and one a lung transplant. .
According to the Ministry of Health, for each organ and tissue donor, 55 people can benefit and highlights the importance of donating to save and improve the quality of life of other Colombians who need an organ and/or tissue transplant, and can access treatment. regardless of sex, religion or economic condition.
Ruby Rivera, coordinator of the Transplant Program of the Atlantic Ministry of Health, reported that until May 28, 2024, Regional 5, which coordinates the Atlantic, performed 143 eye transplants, 104 musculoskeletal, 31 kidney and 30 hematopoietic transplants.
The World Health Organization (WHO) assures that the transplantation of human tissues, organs or cells is a consolidated form of treatment, recognized as the best and often the only way to save life in the case of various serious diseases and injuries. congenital, hereditary or acquired conditions that can be life-threatening.
Wehedeking highlighted that during the previous year, 789 patients from the aforementioned departments benefited from organ and/or tissue transplants. An achievement that was possible due to the solidarity of donors who, in an altruistic act, offered part of their body to save lives and improve the quality of life of numerous patients.
The Donation and Transplant Network of Regional 5, led by the Government of Atlántico, has several actors authorized for rescue and transplants, of which there are 3 banks of ocular tissue, 1 bank of musculoskeletal tissue, four organ transplant IPS (Clínicas de la Costa, Portoazul, General del Norte and Centro); 11 IPS transplanted ocular tissues, 6 IPS of musculoskeletal tissues and 4 of hematopoietic tissues.
