How is the step by step for a kidney transplant like the one Silvina Luna needs

Donating your organs is giving life. Because receiving an organ, for those who are on the waiting list for a transplant, represents neither more nor less than the possibility of continuing to live, of improving their quality of life and their health.

But fear, doubts, questions and unclear information can negatively affect this selfless act that provides second chance at life for other people. Each donor can save the lives of up to eight people. However, the lack of donors is a global problem.

The recent and well-known affair of the model and actress Silvina Luna, put the issue of organ donation on the agenda. Therefore, to remove all kinds of doubts about this complex process, there is nothing better than knowing step by step what the medical protocol for organ donation is. But before starting, some important information should be explained.

In Argentina, the national procurement system is made up of several institutions that work together to complete the process it begins from donation to transplant. He Instituto Nacional Central Único Coordinador de Ablación e Implante (Incucai)is the national authority responsible for promoting, standardizing, coordinating and supervising organ, tissue and cell donation and transplantation activities in our country.

Together at the 24 provincial ablation and implantation agencies, They are part of national and provincial public health structures that work in coordination with public and private hospitals across the country and accredited organ and tissue transplant centers.

“The bone transplant centers These are health establishments authorized to perform transplants. Incucai is responsible for qualifying establishments and accrediting professionals for the transplantation of organs, tissues and cells. This authorisation It must be renewed every 2 years and requires an inspection of the physical space and the technical means, as well as the educational background of the professionals to be authorized. Tissue banks and histocompatibility labs (HLA) are also part of the system,” Incucai sources explained to GlobeLiveMedia.

In Argentina, there are currently 6,955 people who need a transplant to save their lives, according to Incucai confirmed to GlobeLiveMedia. Within this list, 5,514 are waiting for a kidney. The agency’s database also says 214 is the number of transplants performed this year and 90 were donors in 2023.

“The removal operation is the process of obtaining organs and tissues intended for transplantation in the development of which they must intervene until 150 specialized professionals, in order to respond to people on the waiting list. It is made up of several logistical stages of different natures, with a systematized order, which require coordinated actions at each of its stages,” they specified from the Incucai.

And they add: “The solidarity work between different teams of actors is carried out simultaneously in different physical places: in the care establishment where the deceased donor is, in the INCUCAI or the jurisdictional agencies of ablation and implantation and in the transplant centers where the intervention is performed on the recipients”.

When a possible donor In the intensive care area of ​​a hospital, anywhere in the country, the doctor begins the donation process. You contact your provincial jurisdictional body or INCUCAI to coordinate the steps to follow.

The death of the person is verified using neurological criteria -brain death-. This is only possible when patients die in intensive care units and the rest of the body’s functions can be artificially supported.

Once death has been diagnosed, intensive care aims to maintain organ oxygenation to ensure their viability. Laboratory studies are also carried out to determine which organs are viable for transplantation and guarantee the absence of infectious diseases.

Any person over the age of eighteen who has expressed their positive will or who has not already expressly expressed their opposition through the authorized channels is considered a donor. In the case of minors under the age of eighteen, the donation authorization must be made by both parents, by the one present or by their legal representative.

With the biological characteristics and blood type of the donor, the search for possible recipients begins with a computer system called SINTRA. The assignment is not only based on the order in which they appear on the payroll, many variables that define the intervention are taken into account.

It is taken into account the degree of urgency receivers, biological compatibility between donor and recipient avoid rejection and the antiquity on the waiting list, among other parameters.

Once the organs have been allocated, transplant centers prepare their patients for surgery. At the same time, in the hospital where the donor is, the ablation (organ removal) begins. Then the body of the deceased is handed over to the family under the same conditions, without altering its appearance.

The ablation is performed with special equipment that guarantees total asepsis. The storage time of the organ until implantation can be between 4 and 36 hours. depending on the organ to be transplanted.

Finally, the medical teams in the transplant centers implant the organ(s) in the patient who is waiting, in a surgical intervention which can last between two and ten o’clock. Every member of the healthcare team plays a key role in ensuring that the process of organ donation and transplantation takes place in hospitals across our nation.

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