“There have been irregularities in kidney transplants” / Croatia rules out organ trafficking

The two donors, a baker from Kosovo and a truck driver from Serbia, had donated kidneys two years ago to a hospital in Zagreb, and the organ recipients were men from Croatia. In 2019, one of the hospitals in Zagreb had refused to perform the organ transplant, so the transplant was performed at another hospital in the Croatian capital.

Following the suspicions, the Croatian Ministry of Health had temporarily suspended the kidney transplant program from living donors at the Zagreb Hospital Center.

“Organ transplantation is a highly developed procedure in the Republic of Croatia, especially when it comes to organ transplantation, unfortunately, from deceased donors. This specific problem is related to organ transplants from living donors that are not related to the recipient, cases that are extremely rare. There is no doubt about the authorities at the moment [për këto dy raste]. “The health inspectorate made an in-depth analysis and revealed some irregularities in the process itself.”said Berosh.

Suspicious cases of kidney transplantation were discovered by journalist Natasa Saricic. Commenting on the statement of the Minister of Health, she showed that in 2019 – when the organ transplant took place – due to these two suspicious transplants, transplant teams from the Zagreb Hospital Center and the Ministry of Health were assembled.

“There have been suspicions that there may be violations of ethical norms in organ transplantation, which are altruism and financial dependence. In other words, there were suspicions of organ trafficking“, She said for Radio Free Europe.

Croatian Radio-Television (HRT) reported that the two organ donors from Kosovo and Serbia were “of lower social status”.

Radio Free Europe addressed questions to the State Prosecutor’s Office of Kosovo if they were aware of the case that was being investigated by Croatia, but this institution did not respond. Meanwhile, Josip Peric of the Croatian Association for Patients’ Rights told Radio Free Europe that the fact that the two transplants were refused to be performed at a hospital in Zagreb, and then performed at another, raised suspicions of organ trafficking. .

“If nothing happened, why did they stop the whole process? These procedures and regulations are controversial where we see that there are separate regulations in each hospital and the standards are not harmonized. Then there are the big mistakes in terms of violating ethics, morality, the code of medical ethics and of course, the patients themselves“, He said.

In Croatia, organ transplants from living donors unrelated to the recipient are possible. Controls are strict and donors must undergo specific psychological tests, approval by experts from the transplant center and the ethics committee of the health institution where the transplant is performed.

Advertising the availability or need for organs is punishable by up to three years in prison. According to Croatian Radio and Television, Croatia, with more than 100 kidney transplants a year, is among the leading countries in the world.

top channel