In appearance, the figures are encouraging: According to the director general of the National Center for the Promotion of Organ Registry, Dr Jalel Zayadi, Nearly 16,000 Tunisians have voluntarily scored the mention “organ donor” on their national identity card. A citizen gesture with hope for hundreds of patients.
But in practice, the contrast is striking: only 10 to 15 cases per year really respond to the very strict conditions of post-mortem donation. The reason? Organ donation can only take place in very precise circumstances: a death in hospital, in a state of cerebral death, without serious infectious diseases. Which drastically reduces the number of potential donors.
Meanwhile, the waiting list is dangerously lengthened: 1,700 patients are waiting for a kidney transplant, 40 hope for a new heart, and between 40 and 50 are awaiting a liver transplant. Figures that reflect the urgency and distress of many Tunisians awaiting a medical miracle.
Dr. Zayadi insists on the rigorously scientific aspect of the process: tissue compatibility, the blood group and the size of the organ are verified via a secure computer system. “There is no possible human intervention in the allocation of organs,” he says, in order to guarantee transparency and equity.
Little known fact: the transplants are centralized exclusively at the National Center for Organ Registry. The transport of organs is carried out under secure escort, sometimes with the use of helicopters, especially when the donor and the receiver are in distant cities.
