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Berlin – Despite the corona pandemic, the number of donor hearts has remained relatively stable in the current year. The German Society for Thoracic, Cardiac and Vascular Surgery (DGTHG) pointed out. According to the German Organ Transplantation Foundation (DSO) donated 278 hearts post-mortem nationwide from January to November 2020.
According to the DSO, the number of donors in January and February was almost 30 percent higher than in the same period in 2019. By the end of September, however, this increase had been reduced to 1.7 percent by the end of September.
“After the negative record year 2017 with only 257 transplanted hearts, an increase to 333 heart transplants was recorded in 2019. According to the current status, it can be assumed that, despite the current circumstances, no serious decline is to be expected for 2020, ”emphasized DGTHG President Jan Gummert.
Heart transplant people belong to the high-risk group, especially against the background of their medication against organ rejection. According to a data collection in all heart surgery centers, 21 heart transplant people had been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus by June. 38 percent of those affected had to be ventilated, 33 percent of them died.
“Due to the complex heart disease, patients with donor hearts are very much at risk and need special protection,” emphasizes Gummert. © hil / sb / aerzteblatt.de
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