This years EDD celebration began with a press conference organised by Slovenija-transplant. The director of the institute, Dr Andrej Gadžijev, emphasised the positive results of the extremely high support for organ donation. This year, 92% of relatives gave their consent for donation. It is encouraging to see that public understanding and support for organ donation in Slovenia is getting better and better. Organ donation is becoming essential part of end-of-life decisions. The next speaker was Matija Jelenc, PhD, MD, cardiovascular surgeon at UMC Ljubljana. He emphasised the importance of well-coordinated teamwork in every solid organ transplant. This year, 80 solid organ transplants were successfully performed at UMC Ljubljana by the end of September. The results are slightly better compared to 2023.
Afterwards, a special conversation took place between Nina Žitek, who needed a liver transplant 10 years ago due to autoimmune hepatitis, and her specialist Katja Novak, MD at UMC Ljubljana. The honest and direct conversation revealed several dimensions and dynamics of the relationship between a patient and a doctor. As Nina said: “I know and I have observed that it took a lot of effort from many for me to live. When I think of this whole process now, from the preparations for the transplant to the surgery itself and the rehabilitation after the procedure, I realise how many people were involved. If I could, I would reach out to every single one of them and thank them.”
The press statements were followed by the opening of the special art exhibition. Art sculptures of solid organs and corneas with interesting posters about donation and transplantation form a coherent aesthetic and informative unit. The art sculptures were created by the artist group BKBF, Nedim Hadži Ahmetović – Mafa, Izidor Zadravec and Robert Jurak, while the informative posters were developed by Slovenija-transplant. The entire event was accompanied by the excellent musicians of AKA Neomi. The patients thanked the professionals and supporters with flowers. The patient organisations also presented their work and messages. The entire project, entitled Circle of Gratitude and Teamwork, brought together the Slovenija-transplant Institute, UMC Ljubljana and patient associations (Slovenian Transplant Association, Slovenian Pulmonary Hypertension Society, Slovenian Cystic Fibrosis Association).The event attracted a lot of positive media and public attention. Once again, we succeeded in organising and holding a high-quality, motivating and informative event.
