AZE.US
Azerbaijan has expanded the list of specialized medical institutions authorized to perform organ and tissue transplants, a move intended to make life-saving procedures more accessible.
Under a new Cabinet of Ministers decision, the Central Hospital of the State Customs Committee’s Medical Service Department will be permitted to perform heart transplants. The Republican Diagnostic Center will be authorized to carry out stem cell transplants.
Health officials say the expansion will give patients more choices, encourage competition among medical centers and improve the overall quality of transplant services.
The decision is particularly important for patients with severe heart failure. Azerbaijan currently has only a limited number of medical centers capable of performing heart transplants, while the number of people suffering from organ failure continues to rise.
Transplant procedures are included in the country’s compulsory health insurance package and are available to citizens without charge, regardless of their financial situation.
Public attitudes toward posthumous organ donation also appear to be changing. More than 1,600 people have formally agreed to become organ donors after death, according to Azerbaijan’s Coordination Center for Organ Donation and Transplantation.
At the same time, approximately 1,400 patients remain on the national transplant waiting list.
More than 150 procedures involving donor organs have been performed in Azerbaijan to date. Health authorities expect the expanded hospital network to reduce waiting times and provide more patients with access to highly specialized care.
The next priority, officials said, will be improving the quality of transplant services across the country.
AZE.US