She was a member of many national and foreign expert committees and professional boards in the field of donation medicine and transplant treatment, which opened the door for her to work domestically and at the same time placed the Slovenian profession in an international context. Among other things, she was the national transplant coordinator, represented Slovenia in the European Transplant Coordinators’ Organisation (ETCO) and was the Slovenian representative on the Committee of Competent Organisations in the Council of Europe in the 1990s.
The closest co-worker of prim. Vončina was the anaesthetist prim. Danica Avsec, long-time director and formally appointed founder of Slovenia-transplant, today deputy director: “I would like to express my great gratitude for all the professionalism, enthusiasm and help in establishing Slovenija-transplant, as well as for the organisational, professional and legislative foundations laid by prim. Vončina. Her work enabled our further development at the institutional level, the organisation of the national donation network and international cooperation to the level we have today. She had extraordinary energy, a comprehensive understanding and a clear vision of the work, which she shared with me as a colleague long after her retirement. I am grateful to have had such a courageous and professional predecessor and such a great role model. I will remember her fondly.”
“I remember Prim. Jasna Vončina from the time when I was waiting for the opportunity to specialise in surgery in 2001. She included me in the team of transplant coordinators who were responsible for the activities of the newly established network of national donor hospitals. She was extremely strong and determined personality who knew how to deal well with challenges in the clinical departments. She was responsible for ensuring that the work and the role of the transplant coordinators was recognised in all surgical departments. With her dedicated mentorship, vision and professionalism, she was a real role model for us,” stated Andrej Gadžijev, MD, Director of Slovenija-transplant.
We extend our sincere condolences to her family and friends. May she rest in peace.
