Analysis results August 8 is a significant date for the UMC Heart Center team. It was on this day in 2012 that the first donor heart transplant in Kazakhstan was performed at the clinic. The operation was performed under the supervision of Dr. Yuriy Pya, the founder of the clinic, and Dr. Jan Pirk, a visiting cardiac surgeon from the Czech Republic. The event was the impetus for the development of post-mortem organ donation and increased public awareness of the concept of the institution of donation in the country.
To date, 104 heart transplants from postmortem donors have been successfully performed in Kazakhstan, 98 of which were performed at UMC, 3 heart transplants in Almaty and 3 operations in Shymkent. Heart transplantation is the gold standard in the treatment of patients with end-stage heart failure. In severe cases of heart disease, an LVAD mechanical device is implanted in patients as a “bridge to transplantation”, which helps to pump blood in the body. However, the device is a temporary therapy that helps patients to wait for a heart transplant.
Last week, the UMC Heart Center team performed a heart transplant on a 47-year-old man who had LVAD implanted earlier in 2017 after suffering a heart attack. Eight years of waiting ended with a successful heart transplant from a donor whose relatives agreed to the operation. Another patient underwent a donor lung transplant at the same time. The condition of both patients is satisfactory; they are awaiting rehabilitation and recovery. Three more patients who had kidney and liver transplants at other clinics also received a second chance at life.
Organ transplantation from a posthumous donor takes place only after brain death is declared, and with the consent of the relatives of the potential donor or his/her lifetime consent. When a potential donor with an established diagnosis of brain death is identified, the regional transplant coordinator checks the presence of a lifetime will of a person for post-mortem organ donation in the registry and conducts a conversation with relatives about possible posthumous donation.
Every citizen has the right to make a will on posthumous organ donation and register their decision on the electronic government portal. It is also important to inform close relatives about the lifetime decision. According to the latest data, there are more than 4,000 patients on the waiting list for organ transplantation, 145 of them are waiting for a donor heart.
Successful organ transplants are the result of the coordinated work of medical centers, coordinators, air ambulance, transplant specialists, traffic police officers and other government services. Working together to provide security and transportation support helps to save the time that is crucial in the organ transplantation process.
