New law on transplantation: war dead cannot be donors

10 January 09:37

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has passed a bill that extends the ban on organ transplants from those killed during the war. This was announced by Yaroslav Zheleznyak, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.

The document was supported by 254 MPs.

Previously, organ transplantation was prohibited only for those killed in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Now it applies to military personnel killed in the line of duty and civilians who became victims of armed aggression against Ukraine.

The law also prohibits the removal of organs from people who died as a result of coercive actions by law enforcement or security forces.

The document provides for the following changes:

Introduction of the transplantation emergency status: ensuring urgent surgeries for patients in need of emergency care.
The “domino” principle in transplantation: performing complex organ transplants between several patients in one procedure.
Establishment of the National Transplantation Committee at the Ministry of Health: the body will review cases of adverse reactions during transplantation.
Donation among minors: it is allowed to be a donor of hematopoietic stem cells for parents.
Improving the automatic search for donor-recipient pairs: optimization of the Unified State Information System for Organ Transplantation.

It is noted that the purpose of the law is to eliminate legal gaps, prevent abuse and fakes that are actively spread by Russian propaganda.

In addition, the bill improves the procedure:

verification of information about serious cases of adverse reactions and suspected cases of transplantation
reviewing complaints or appeals from medical institutions that perform transplants;
determining the suitability of anatomical materials for transplantation and their removal.

Transplantation in Ukraine

Since 2024, transplantation has been included in the Medical Guarantee Program. In other words, the cost of transplantation in medical institutions that have an appropriate agreement with the NHSU is guaranteed to be reimbursed by the state.

The agency emphasized that the National Health Service of Ukraine has currently concluded agreements with 36 medical institutions across the country under the package “Treatment of Adults and Children by Organ Transplantation”.

Thanks to this project, 316 organ transplants were performed in 2021, 384 in 2022, and 585 in 2023.

Organ transplantation in Ukraine is free of charge. Medical institutions that have a contract with the National Health Service of Ukraine under the relevant package receive reimbursement from the state for

provision of medical services in the pre-transplantation period
transplantation itself,
provision of medical services in the post-transplantation period.

The NHSU also pays UAH 41 thousand for the provision of medical services at the pre-transplantation stage, and the transplantation tariff depends on the organ to be transplanted:

lungs – over UAH 2.6 million
heart – over UAH 2 million;
liver – about 1.4 million hryvnias;
kidneys – about 800 thousand hryvnias.

The tariff for the post-transplantation period also depends on the transplanted organ and can range from UAH 185 thousand to UAH 193 thousand.

The provision of medical services for post-transplant support lasts from the date of discharge to 360 days after the operation.

Which hospitals can perform organ transplantation:

NSSCH “Okhmatdyt” of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine
Lviv Territorial Medical Association. “Multidisciplinary Clinical Hospital of Intensive Care and Emergency Medical Care”
State Institution “Heart Institute of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine”
State Institution “National Scientific Center of Surgery and Transplantation named after O.O. Shalimov of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”
Clinical Center for Oncology, Hematology, Transplantation and Palliative Care of Cherkasy Regional Council
Capital LLC
Kyiv City Center for Nephrology and Dialysis of the executive body of the Kyiv City Council
Vinnytsia Regional Clinical Hospital named after M.I. Pirogov of Vinnytsia Regional Council
Clinical Hospital “Feofania” of the State Administration of Ukraine
State Institution “Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine”
Regional Clinical Hospital of Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council
Odesa Regional Clinical Hospital of the Odesa Regional Council
Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 1 of the executive body of the Kyiv City Council
Municipal Enterprise “Volyn Regional Clinical Hospital” of the Volyn Regional Council
Municipal Enterprise of Lviv Regional Council “Western Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Center”
Kyiv Regional Clinical Hospital of the Kyiv Regional Council
Ternopil Regional Clinical Hospital of the Ternopil Regional Council
Chernivtsi Regional Clinical Hospital of the Chernivtsi Regional Council
Regional Clinical Hospital named after O.F. Herbachevsky of Zhytomyr Regional Council
Khmelnytsky Regional Hospital of Khmelnytsky Regional Council
Kharkiv Regional Medical Clinical Center for Urology and Nephrology named after V.I. Shapoval, Kharkiv Regional Council
Kovel City and District Territorial Medical Association of Kovel City Council of Volyn Oblast
Central City Hospital of Rivne City Council
Mechnikov Dnipropetrovs’k Regional Clinical Hospital of Dnipropetrovs’k Regional Council
St. Martin’s Hospital of the Dnipro Regional Council
Central City Clinical Hospital of Ivano-Frankivsk City Council
Municipal enterprise “Oleksandrivska Clinical Hospital of Kyiv” of the executive body of the Kyiv City Council
Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital of the Lviv Regional Council
Mykolaiv Regional Clinical Hospital of Mykolaiv Regional Council
Sumy Regional Council “Sumy Regional Clinical Hospital”
Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital of the Kharkiv Regional Council
Chernihiv Medical Center of Modern Oncology of the Chernihiv Regional Council
Zaporizhzhia Regional Clinical Hospital of Zaporizhzhia Regional Council
Cherkasy Regional Cardiology Center of Cherkasy Regional Council
State Institution “Amosov National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery of NAMSU”
Central City Clinical Hospital of Sumy City Council.