- During 2022, a total of 6,033 surgical interventions were performed in the country.
- The figure represents an increase of 40% compared to the previous year.
- World Organ and Tissue Transplant Day is commemorated every February 27.
There are activities like donations and transplants of organs and tissues that will always be necessary. They are the basis for saving lives, although unfortunately the interest among the population is not enough in some countries like Mexico. For this reason, information and communication programs are carried out permanently to motivate people to join this noble practice.
On the other hand, the impact caused by the pandemic cannot be ignored. As of 2020, fear was generated in a large part of the population to go to hospitals and health centers. While many of the interventions that were scheduled had to be postponed indefinitely.
In this vein, in 2022 the National Transplant Center (Cenatra) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) released an interesting proposal. It is about the creation of the first medical specialty in Transplants in our country.
With this in mind, Dr. José Salvador Aburto Morales, who is the director of Cenatra, announced that during 2022, a total of 6,033 organ and tissue transplants were performed in Mexico. This is welcome news because the number represents an increase of 40 percent compared to 2021.
The most performed organ transplants in Mexico
Of the total performed last year, 3,061 were cornea; 2,712, kidney (1,987 living donors and 725 deceased); 238 from liver (20 from living donors and 218 from deceased) and 42 from heart.
February 27 I World Day of #Transplant of #Organs y #Tissues ????????????????????
This day aims to raise awareness and reflect on the importance of transplants to save lives.
Learn more at ➡️ https://t.co/7ZVEe0AzWr#PorAmorALaVida pic.twitter.com/LbjtgWWJOJ– HEALTH Mexico (@SSalud_mx) February 27, 2023
Aburto Morales announced that by 2022, there are 20,016 patients in the country waiting for an organ or tissue. Of which 15,454 required a kidney; 4,267, horny; 248, liver; 30, heart, and 17 need two organs or more.
It is important to remember that February 27 marks World Organ and Tissue Transplant Day. The objective is to promote the culture of donation, in addition to raising awareness and reflecting on the value of life and health. For many patients, transplantation not only represents the last treatment option, but also the only chance to live.
A transplant consists of moving an organ, tissue or a group of cells from one person (donor) to another (recipient). Or, from one part of the body to another in the same patient, to replace a diseased or injured organ or tissue with a healthy one.
Where do you register to be a voluntary organ donor?
A person who wants to express their desire to donate can enter the Registry of Voluntary Donors on the Cenatra page.
It is essential to inform family and close people. In the event that the donor changes his decision before dying, he must also tell the family about it.
It is important to point out that people with some mental illness and who cannot freely express their will cannot be donors.
Donation and transplantation are regulated by the General Health Law in the fourteenth title, and by the Regulations of the General Health Law on the matter, which express the prohibition of trade, trafficking and tourism of organs, tissues and cells.
The regulations indicate that the donation will be governed by the principles of altruism, non-profit and confidentiality, so that the obtaining and use of organs and tissues will be strictly free of charge.
History of organ transplants in Mexico
- In 1963, the first kidney transplant was performed from a living donor at the National Medical Center of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), today CMN Siglo XXI.
- In 1976 at the National Institute of Nutrition, currently the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition (INCMNSZ), the first auxiliary liver transplant was carried out, with a graft from a pediatric donor, in an adult patient. In that year the National Transplant Registry was created.
- In 1985 the first orthotopic liver transplant was performed at the INCMNSZ.
- In 1988 and 1989 the first heart and lung transplants were performed. The first in the Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Médico La Raza del IMSS; the second at the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INER).
- In 1999 the National Transplant Council was created.
- In 2001, Cenatra began operations as a decentralized body of the Ministry of Health.
Also read:
IMSS is the national leader in organ transplants. How many does it perform per year?
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UNAM and Cenatra discuss creating the first specialty in organ transplants