Luxembourg Transplant and Eurotransplant

Organ removal and transplant require perfect organisation, which is often difficult and can only be managed by professionals.

Luxembourg Transplant

Since 6 October 2009, Luxembourg Transplant has been approved by the Ministry of Health as the national coordination service for organ donation. Thus, it coordinates organ transplantation and removal in Luxembourg.

• Human kidneys were first removed in Luxembourg in the late 1970s.
• The first kidney transplant was carried out in December 1980.

The transplant coordinator at Luxembourg Transplant reviews the complete patient file and creates a 'donor' file in every case.

In accordance with the Amended Law of 25 November 1982 governing the removal of substances of human origin, the doctor is obliged to check whether the deceased objected to organ donation during their lifetime.

The 'Passport to Life' will enable the Luxembourg-Transplant transplant coordinator to create a 'donor' file. Once the 'donor' file has been created, the coordinator contacts Eurotransplant. Then, the search for a potential recipient can begin.

Eurotransplant

Prof. Dr Jon J. Van Rood, founder of Eurotransplant (1967), believed that a database should be created to record all patients who were waiting for a transplant. This would significantly increase the chances of finding potential recipients who are a good tissue match for the organs harvested from a donor. His idea turned out to be a good one, and it helped to improve transplant outcomes.

Very quickly, Eurotransplant's role expanded beyond simply recording the medical data of organ transplant candidates.

To be effective, it also needed to organise the full range of logistics involved in organ harvesting and transplant, and to establish procedures and quality standards that form the basis of today's successes.