“Flor is serious, fighting for her life at this moment. But we already fought a lot and won so many battles that I hope my warrior will come out ahead “, she tells LA GACETA Romina molina, mom of Florence Antonella Elsa Sánchez, a nine-year-old girl who was transplanted during the pandemic.
His case is one of thousands that must turn to someone else’s organ each year to live. Today, on World Organ and Tissue Transplantation Day, it becomes an example of the importance of becoming aware and becoming a donor so that many stories of hope like Flor’s are repeated.
On the night of December 15, 2018, the girl was diagnosed with a nephrotic-nephritic syndrome at the Children’s Hospital and remained hospitalized until January 8 with damaged kidneys. From that moment until the end of 2019, when he had the possibility to travel to Buenos Aires to carry out all his studies and begin the pre-transplant period, he received medication and was kept under medical supervision. He was on the waiting list for 10 days until he received a kidney transplant on February 11, 2020. His mother says it totally changed his life and that it was a mixture of emotions that the moment arrived just before the quarantine for covid begins -19.
His health was complicated in September, as a result of a BK virus infection, which worsened when he contracted coronavirus exactly one year after receiving the transplant. Flor is currently in therapy, fighting every day to get ahead. His family remains optimistic and highlights the good treatment and the enormous help they are receiving at the Institute of Transplants and High Complexity, in Buenos Aires.
Romina is grateful to the donor who not only saved her daughter’s life, but also had the chance to save another person. “The organs don’t go to heaven; if you donate them, you somehow live within those people, ”he says.
Transplantation and the pandemic
The world day that is commemorated today was instituted to honor the professionals who carry out this procedure, as well as the donors who make it possible.
Despite the pandemic, Argentina has permanently continued with these practices. “It was quite difficult to continue mainly because the therapy and the health system in general was really dedicated to covid-19. We know that these processes cannot be carried out in an area where there are viruses and infections, so it was a bit relegated, “he says. Aldo Marcelo Bunader, a reference of the Unique Coordinating Center for Ablation and Implant of Tucumán (Cucai-Tuc). “The situation of transplanted patients was not affected at any time; the postoperative period continued to be controlled and the corresponding medication was provided to immunosuppressed or immunosuppressed patients ”, he says.
Bunader assures that Tucumán maintained its rate of donation and transplants during 2020, with approximately 16 donors per million inhabitants; the figure exceeds the national average of 10 donors per million.
“An agreement has just been signed with the Incucai Nación for the creation of a Regional Transplant Center for bone marrow, through which the younger population will greatly benefit. The tucumanos will finally have this center that will have a referral area throughout the Northwest. We are very happy ”, he acknowledges.
Adapt
The surgeon Santiago Villavicencio Fornaciari, head of the Procurement and Transplant department of the Padilla Hospital, points out that the difficulties in the operations were mainly due to the fact that they had very few personnel in the pandemic, since a large part had to be reassigned to care for coronavirus, or they became infected took leave. At the same time, transplant recipients also fell ill or had contact with positives, which prevented them from continuing with their preparation, added to the fear and insecurity they showed about undergoing the transplant in this scenario.
“Everything happened in a context where the system was collapsed and the distribution of organs available in this period was seriously affected and decreased”, highlights the surgeon, although he emphasizes that the Padilla never stopped working on this issue. They are currently seeking to readjust, resuming the ways of previous years, improving all the intra-hospital circuits and recovering the intensive therapy rooms that were destined for COVID-19.
Faced with the blocking of the healthcare entry of professionals from other provinces due to the risk of greater viral circulation occurring at the peak time, the Padilla hospital managed to carry out an alternative operation that is active to this day.
“With Fernando Gomez Huamani we operate multi-organ donors; We extract the organs that are distributed and coordinate a complex operation because those who transfer them, sent in a private plane, cannot get off. The organ ablated by us is delivered directly to be implanted in Buenos Aires ”, explains Villavicencio.
This system had been implemented in isolation for a couple of years, but it intensified during the pandemic, which allowed the recovery of many organs that would have been lost without the trained personnel to carry it out. For the fifth consecutive year, Padilla remained number one in number of donors in Argentina, despite the fact that last year there was a 50% decrease.
Current legislation
The Justina law came in 2019 to collapse the reluctance to donate and caused Argentina to obtain a record position of donors, which it seeks to recover after the period of decline due to the pandemic.
During 2020, 1,100 patients on the waiting list received organ transplants. In total, 660 kidney transplants were performed; 270 liverworts; 92 cardiac; 45 renopancreatic; 21 pulmonary; 16 hepatorenal; two cardiorenal; three pancreatic and one intestinal. In addition, 642 corneal transplants were performed.
Nationwide, there are 6,992 people waiting for an organ, and from the beginning of the year until now, 205 have been transplanted. According to Villavicencio, in the province there are 87 kidney patients on the waiting list: 62 for a liver; four, a heart; two, one lung and 15, corneas. None are currently in critical condition or code red.
“Mainly we want to thank and acknowledge on this day the donors who unfortunately lose their lives and are in solidarity with their neighbors, and the families who accompany this process at a time of great pain; and to those who collaborate regardless of the time or schedule so that the operations can be carried out. There are many more involved than you think. Donating is life ”, he emphasizes.
Flor and many other transplants bear witness to her words.
(Journalistic production: Mariana Ávila)
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