Organ donors in Cyprus hard to find

The percentage of organ donors in Cyprus remains among the lowest in Europe, Health Minister  Michalis Hadjipantela said.

According to figures, since 2011, 173 transplants have been carried out from living donors and 80 from posthumous ones—an average of 23 per year.

Hadjipantela, with Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias, visited the Transplantation Clinic of Nicosia General Hospital on Thursday.

He said the average number of transplants per year is 21, and the aim is to increase these figures, drawing help from countries that are pioneers in the field, such as Spain.

The Transplantation Clinic became operational again after two years, during which it had remained closed due to the pandemic.  It was founded in 2011.

During their visit to the Clinic, doctors briefed the ministers about the operations and treatment activities and the ICU.

On Friday, the ministers will further discuss ways of cooperation with Spain in transplantation.

Darias said the percentage of donors in her country has increased by 40% and is among the highest in the EU at around 40.2 donors per million people.

The ratio in Cyprus is around 1.7 per million.

She noted that Spain wants to continue cooperation with Cyprus in this field to keep saving lives.

State health services organization (OKYpY) Director Kypros Stavrides said the Clinic is a national treasure for Cyprus.