Organ transplant operations have stopped in Ukraine – MP says

In Ukraine, organ transplantation operations have not been conducted for the past two weeks.

This was stated by Ukrainian Member of Parliament Oksana Dmitrieva, who authored the organ transplantation law.

She explained that this situation is connected to a criminal case regarding the illegal export of human anatomical materials, for which ten doctors and a former deputy minister of health are under suspicion.

“Law enforcement is investigating allegations of false information being entered into the unified electronic database. There is a specific procedure for entering such information, there is an order for diagnosing brain death, and the law outlines the procedure and conditions for transplantation. This includes how a person can become a donor. First, brain death must be recorded. This process takes 24 hours and is fully documented step-by-step. This is a crucial point for understanding all transplantation processes. Until the system registers that a person has died and brain death is confirmed, they cannot be added to the database as a donor. They can only be considered a potential donor. After a person’s death is confirmed, transplant coordinators contact the relatives to obtain permission for organ transplantation. Only after relatives give consent is the person added to the database as a donor. This is the second crucial point. The third is the distribution of organs: it must occur exclusively through the electronic system, which automatically matches organs based on specific criteria,” Dmitrieva said.

She noted that before the war, organ logistics were much simpler, often involving helicopter transport.

“But now, many factors complicate this process. Organs that need to be transplanted have a limited time of viability. Therefore, doctors may have altered the electronic system to preserve the organ and perform the transplant in time. This criminal case concerns incorrect data entry into the electronic system, not the illegal export of organs abroad,” Dmitrieva stated.

The MP mentioned that doctors have stopped performing organ transplants because they fear being suspected like their colleagues and have thus suspended this type of work.