The meeting in Slovenia began at the premises of Slovenia-transplant, the host of the event. In the introduction, the director of the institute, Andrej Gadžijev, and the deputy director, Danica Avsec, presented the organ donation system in Slovenia.
After introductory welcome, a meeting at the Center for Transplantation Activities of the University Hospital Ljubljana was held, where Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ivan Kneževič, Head of the Surgical Clinic and the aforementioned center, presented the successes and challenges of transplantation activities in Slovenia. Given the size of the population, a single transplantation center is sufficient. The University Hospital Ljubljana also provides top-notch treatment with organ transplantation, as shown and confirmed by numerous international comparisons.
After visiting the Center for Transplantation at UMC Ljubljana, we continued with a longer discussion about the donor program and a presentation of the operations, tasks and organization of our institution in the Slovenia-transplant office. Hospital transplant coordinators from donor hospitals joined the meeting online. They presented the work at the local level and the challenges they face, arising mainly from logistical areas and staff shortages in the hospitals.
We continued the working meeting in cooperation with UMC Ljubljana to provide a comprehensive overview of donor and transplantation activities. UMC Ljubljana General Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marko Jug and Prof. Dr. Primož Gradišek, Head of CIT, took us around the intensive care units and provided us with a very direct overview of the operations of the largest healthcare institution in Slovenia.
In the afternoon, the Minister of Health, Dr. Valentina Plevolnik Rupel, invited us to her office for an official reception and a longer conversation.
Over the course of the day, we had a constructive and, above all, open discussion about the challenges we are all familiar with: how can we simplify the exchange of sensitive data (nationally and internationally), how can we ensure that donated organs and teams reach their destination even faster, how can we solve staffing problems and overcome systemic and legal obstacles?
The integration of Slovenia into the Eurotransplant network is crucial for the daily operational activities and the development of the national organ donation programme. We are convinced that only together we can ensure continuous development and create a better system of transplant treatment for patients who need it.
The delegation’s full-day visit was a success. We would like to thank the guests and all participants from the national institutions for their co-operation and stimulating discussions.
