TEHRAN – The director of the organ transplant society announced recently that about 18,000 patients are waiting for organ transplant in the country. 

 

Dr. Mohammad Reza Masjedi suggested that families who lose a loved one can help lower this figure by donating 84% of their deceased body organs if he held an organ donation card and 41% if the deceased did not hold a card.

 

Masjedi who was speaking at an event held at Shahid Beheshti Medical Sciences University said currently liver transplant is taking place in more than three centers across the country, heart transplant in at least four centers, lung transplant in two centers, pancreas transplant in three centers and bone marrow transplant in three medical education centers.

 

Masjedi added that Iran is in a good place in regard to organ transplant and is competing against reputable regional and global transplant centers.

 

For example, he said except in Iran lung transplant is rarely done in regional countries.

 

Lung transplant is a highly sophisticated task that entails cooperation by 16 professional medical teams, he explained.

 

He also said skin transplant is one of the most difficult surgeries which have started in Iran recently.