Tissue transplantation system to be introduced in Ukraine according to European standards
The Cabinet of Ministers has adopted a resolution regulating tissue transplantation in Ukraine. The respective amendments were made under the Law of Ukraine “On the Application of Transplantation of Anatomical Materials to Humans”, taking into account European Directives and the implementation of the provisions of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement on tissue transplantation.
The Government’s decision defines the procedure for the removal, storage, testing, processing, and use of tissues for transplantation, as well as requirements for their quality. This type of assistance will include the transplantation of bone fragments, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, heart valves, and other structures of the musculoskeletal system and cardiovascular system.
“Despite the full-scale war, we are doing everything possible to ensure that such a high-tech type of medical care as transplantation continues to develop. Today’s solution will enable hospitals to create hospital tissue banks. This is an important step to save the lives of military and civilians who have been severely injured, as well as to help patients with birth defects and complex diseases requiring reconstructive and plastic surgery. Today, human tissue transplantation is a rapidly developing area of medicine that provides ample opportunities for the treatment of hitherto incurable diseases. We are working to ensure that Ukrainians have access to the most advanced medical technologies that were previously available only abroad.”
The State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control will be responsible for maintaining a register of medical institutions that provide tissues and hospital tissue banks and monitoring adverse reactions and possible complications after transplantation.
Currently, tissue transplantation is not performed in Ukraine, but about 20,000 Ukrainians need such operations every year. For comparison, more than 2.5 million tissue transplants are performed annually in the United States. In Europe, this need is met by hospital tissue banks that accumulate and transfer donor materials to medical institutions.
The introduction of a similar system in Ukraine will save the lives of patients in need of tissue transplantation and ensure the quality and safety of anatomical materials to prevent disease transmission.
It should be recalled that transplantation is an important branch of medicine that gives a chance for life to many Ukrainians who have no other choice. Anyone can sign a consent for organ donation. It should be given to the transplant coordinator of a supporting hospital or transplant center.