ZAGREB, 1 March 2022 - Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of organ transplants in Croatia increased by 26.5% in 2021 compared with 2020, according to data provided by the Health Ministry.
There were 121 donors, and 268 solid organs were transplanted, or 65.4 organs per million people.
A total of 124 kidney, 34 heart, 9 lung and 104 liver transplants were successfully performed. The number of kidney transplants increased by 26%, of liver transplants by 9.5% and of heart transplants by 36%.
The largest number of transplants were performed by Zagreb's Merkur and KBC hospitals - 144 and 88 respectively. Among the clinical hospitals, Zagreb's Sisters of Charity Hospital had the largest number of registered donors (23), while among the general hospitals the one in the northern city of Varaždin led with 17 donors.
Even though the organ transplantation programme was briefly suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, Croatia remained one of the world's most successful countries in organ donation and transplantation.
A lung transplantation programme was launched in April 2021 and by the end of the year nine lung transplants were successfully performed on Croatian recipients, the ministry said.
