Transplantology pushes forward in Kazakhstan, so as organ donorship

Dr. Zhaksylyk Doskaliyev is the Head of the Coordination Council on Organ and Tissue Transplantation in Kazakhstan. The organization has five regional branches in Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, Aktobe and Karaganda.

It has a specially trained group of doctors to conduct a kind of a literacy project in organ donation in Kazakhstan to raise the population awareness of the procedure and reduce hostility toward the new development in the society. Dr. Doskaliyev says that there is a lot of work to do.

More than 4000 people are in need for organ transplants. For instance, there are 1255 patients on the waiting list for kidney transplantation, 975 need liver transplantation, 233 require a new pancreas and 235 need lung translation. There are 1146 people in the line up for the main organ – heart.

Cadaveric donors are rare in Kazakhstan, and in most cases relatives are the ones who donate organs for the complicated surgeries, said Dr. Doskaliyev.

In 2013 there were 123 transplantation surgeries that used organs from living relative donors and only 6 involving organ donated by will – cadaveric transplants. According to Dr. Doskaliyev, the public opinion has been changing and becoming more positive about transplantations from deceased donors.  People come to understanding that by donating their organs after death they can save lives.

The database of the National Transplantology Center lead by Dr. Doskaliyev already has around 20 people who have provided their notarized consent and volunteered to donate their organs in case of the brain death. Dr. Doskaliyev himself is ready to donate his organs after death for the noble cause.