Iranian Doctors Carry Out 1st Transplant from Dead Donors

Organ transplants after cardiac death or brain death have been performed for years in Iran, but organ transplants from patients who were confirmed dead was carried out for the first time in Iran and the Middle East in association with a knowledge-based company, Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery Department of General Surgery, School of Medicine Hazrat-e Rasoul General Hospital affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences Dr. Sam Zeraatiannejad Davani said.

He added that vital organs, including kidney, liver, pancreas, intestines, and heart valve were harvested from three dead donors for transplants.

After death both the quantity and quality of organs available for transplant will be adversely affected due to an inflammatory response, Davani said, but meantime, adding that by using a haemoperfusion cartridge, which helps to remove pro-inflammatory cytokines in cytokine storm and other cellular inflammatory markers the donors’ organs remain viable for transplant.

He underlined that the procedure has been approved by the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation.

Organ transplantation saves thousands of lives every year but the shortage of donors is a major limiting factor to increase transplantation rates. To allow more patients to be transplanted before they die on the wait-list an increase in the number of donors is necessary.

Deceased donation includes organ, cornea and tissue donation. Deceased organ donation is the process of giving an organ or a part of an organ, at the time of the donor’s death, for the purpose of transplantation to another person. Cornea donation restores sight and tissue donation helps save lives.

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