This year there has been a decrease of up to 50% in transplants and donations • The reason: donors' fear of hospitalization during the corona period • National Transplant Center: "Only slight decrease"
Another impact on public health due to the corona:
Since the beginning of the year, there has been a sharp decline of up to 50% in donations and organ transplants - heart, liver, kidneys and lungs.
This is evident from estimates and data (unofficial and not final) of the hospitals, and conversations with doctors and senior managers who perform the organ transplants in the country.
The decrease in organ donations and organ transplants in Israel is similar to data published in recent months around the world, according to which since the Corona epidemic began, there has been a 50% or more decrease in organ donations and transplants in England, the United States and other countries.
Overcrowding in Corona
Dr. Tamar Ashkenazi, director of the National Transplant Center, and Prof. Rafi Biar, chairman of the steering committee of the National Center, yesterday vehemently refused to provide official data on organ donations and transplants in Israel since the beginning of the year.
Prof. Biar noted, however, that he understood "there was no significant decrease in transplant activity, despite the corona challenges. There was only a slight and not drastic decrease, according to the test I did. The National Transplant Center continues its normal activities We act in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and in full transparency. "
According to the unofficial internal data from the hospitals in the country, so far there has been a drop in organ donations and transplants compared to previous years, in all organs intended for transplantation: lung donations have decreased by about half.
To date, there have been only 21 lung transplants in Beilinson in Petah Tikva, compared to 56-47 in a normal year.
This is the only hospital where lung transplants are performed in Israel. Until September this year, about 200 kidney transplants were performed in Israel, while in recent years there were about 400 such transplants. Since the beginning of 2020, about 50 liver transplants have been performed, compared to up to 120 in routine years. There is less heart, when according to these data, there were only about ten heart transplants until September, while in recent years there have been between 29-26 transplants each year.
Senior doctors involved in the field explained that the apparent decline in organ donations and transplants occurred because many Israelis feared hospitalization, due to their increased involvement in Corona patients at the expense of efforts to obtain organ donation consent, and less public and managerial attention to the issue.
Also, in the first wave of the corona the Ministry of Health temporarily banned kidney transplantation from living donors.
According to the same doctors, the new condition severely affects those waiting for an organ transplant, and some may not even survive it.
According to the National Transplant Center, in January this year, 1,153 patients for all types of organs were registered as waiting for a transplant.
Yesterday we unveiled here the unusual struggle over lung transplants for Corona patients, which has led to an unprecedented confrontation and mutual accusations between Beilinson and Sheba hospitals in Tel Hashomer.
In March this year, with the approval of the Ministry of Health, a new lung transplant program was opened in Sheba, but so far not a single transplant has been performed on it.
Beilinson responded: "The solution in lung transplantation for corona patients is problematic. This is because these patients are complex and complicated and are candidates with low chances of success in transplantation. Transplants in this type of patient come at a long wait for a lung transplant, and today "Their stable blues are much higher than corona patients. Due to the corona, this year there has been a decrease in the number of organ transplants. Opening more transplant centers without increasing the number of organ donations will further reduce the number of transplants in each center and impair quality results."
