First donor heart transplant in Azerbaijan marked as historic achievement, expert says

Conducting the first donor heart transplant in Azerbaijan and the entire South Caucasus is a historic achievement, Honorary Chairman of the Cardiovascular Surgery Society Kamran Musayev told journalists during a conference dedicated to the first anniversary of the event, Report informs.

According to him, interest in organ donation has noticeably increased in the country, progressing in two directions at once.

"For a heart transplant, we need donors with diagnosed brain death - for this, their families must make a decision to donate organs, or citizens must register in advance in a special registry. The absolute majority of those who voluntarily registered with the Coordination Center of the Ministry of Health over the past year have done so very recently. This is direct evidence of the growing trust of the population in domestic medicine. At the same time, we are recording a significant increase in the number of patients requiring a transplant," Musayev noted.

The specialist also noted that the patients on the waiting list include not only adults up to 60 years old but also young children aged 4-5 years.