Every 1st of November we celebrate the National Organ Donation & Transplantation Day, established by the Hellenic Organ Transplantation Organisation (EOM) to raise public awareness of the value of organ donation.
“Breath Unlimited – Be a life donor”
The new actions of the successful campaign of our Association “Unlimited Breath- Be a life donor”, which has been launched in 2020, took place in September 2023, with the support of the President of the Republic, Mrs.Sackellaropoulou Katerina and the Minister of Health, Mr.Michalis Chrysochoidis, aiming to raise public awareness about Cystic Fibrosis and transplants. You can see the actions of our campaign here.
The Hellenic Cystic Fibrosis Association continues to stand by the Ministry of Health, the Hellenic Transplantation Organisation, the Onassis Foundation and the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre, in every effort to increase the number of organ donors in Greece.
We support transplants with actions.
We give the 2nd chance for life to our fellow human beings in danger.
We give Unlimited Breath with one click.
Sign up as an organ donor here.
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Below is the Press Release of the Hellenic Transplantation Organization (EOM)
“The Hellenic Transplantation Organization (EOM), has established since 2007 the 1st of November as “Hellenic Organ Donation & Transplantation Day”. The aim of this day is to stimulate and raise awareness among the general public as well as to provide an opportunity for discussion and exchange of views with our immediate environment on the important issue of Organ Donation.
Organ Donation is the “gift of life” which is expected by every person who is on the waiting lists for organ transplantation in our country. This gift comes from each of us individually through our Organ Donation Declaration and our inclusion in the National Organ & Tissue Donation Registry. At the same time, this gift comes from the mental strength of donor families who, through the pain of loss, find the strength to give their consent and donate the organs of their loved ones to other suffering patients.
All the families who have consented to organ donation, as well as the valuable support of the medical and paramedical staff of our country’s Intensive Care Units and Transplant Units, are the most important links that have contributed to the increase in organ donation and transplants in recent years in our country compared to past years. It is noteworthy that while in the past deceased organ donors ranged between 40 – 50 per year, in 2022 organs from 69 deceased donors were utilized for transplantation, while this year, before the end of 2023, we are already counting 74 organ donors and over 170 solid organ transplants.
The President of the E.O.M., Prof. Georgios Papatheodoridis states: “We are going through a period of important developments that I hope will change the picture in the field of transplantation in Greece as a whole and especially in the field of solid organ transplantation. We now have a comprehensive National Plan, a new law on transplants has been passed and has started to be implemented, the institution of the Local Transplant Coordinator has started to work and is paying off through funding from the Onassis Foundation and is expected to be further strengthened by recruitment through the Ministry of Health. At the same time, several actions are being carried out by the E.O.M. to improve quality, to better organize the transplantation field, and to raise awareness and improve the culture of organ donation and transplantation in our country through various patient associations, scientific companies and important actions of the Onassis Foundation. All of the above have led to an increase in the annual number of donors for the 2nd consecutive year, which leaves us optimistic about the stability of improvement in this area. I therefore believe that with the continued efforts of the E.O.M., the Intensive Care Units and all our Transplant Units, together with the support of the official State, the scientific community and the Greek society, we can manage to improve our performance in the field of organ donation and transplantation in order to give life chances to more and more patients.”
