Remarks via Video Message by Commissioner Stella Kyriakides at the High Level Conference on Organ Donation and Transplantation by the Hungarian Presidency

Conference on Organ Donation and Transplantation

Your Excellency Minister Pintér, honourable Minister of State, dear colleagues,

Every year, organ transplants restore and save lives for over thirty thousand people across the EU.

They mean the difference between hope and despair.

So, I welcome the Hungarian Presidency initiative to discuss this vital issue.

Many of the ideas you will discuss today align with our work in this field.

I want to highlight the need for outcome registries to better understand and to improve the results of transplant activities.

The Commission has actively supported outcome registries for kidney donation and transplants. And we need to ensure that outcome data come together.

The area of vigilance is also highlighted.

Here, a lot can be learned from the experiences of colleagues working with tissue or cell transplants, and even with blood transfusions.

Vigilance in these fields is being strengthened with the new SoHO regulation.

Of course, there are many other new approaches and technologies to explore.

Like paired kidney exchanges to allow transplant for patients that are difficult to match.

Knowledge about these issues has been built through EU-funded actions – and together, we can make even more progress.

As you know, we have already had an EU level Action Plan on Organ Donation and Transplantation that delivered significant results.

Several actions focused on key success factors to strengthen national transplant activities. Most of these outcomes are still relevant today for Member States' national transplant systems.

We must also recognise the critical impact the pandemic had with a significant decrease in transplant numbers.

The effects also on waiting times are felt still today by patients, many of whom have little time to spare.

This is why I am thankful to the Presidency for elevating the discussion of transplant medicine once more.

Together, we can explore and develop even more important actions in this unique field of healthcare.

Finally, I want to thank you, the professionals and administrators in national transplant services.

Real success in organ transplantation is based on your tireless work on the ground.

You are making a real difference to patients, to their families, and to health systems across the EU.

Thank you – and I wish you a very successful conference.