If the announcement of the Minister of Health comes true Zlatibor Lončar about 1.800 patients in Serbia who are waiting for a new organ could soon travel to Belarus at the expense of the state transplantation.
Serbia and Belarus have agreed on cooperation in the field of organ transplants, said Serbian Health Minister Zlatibor Lončar, who is visiting that country.
"In this regard, it was agreed that our citizens will be able to count on organ transplants in Belarus at the expense of our state and that expert teams from both sides will be formed as soon as possible to work closely together to make this cooperation as good and efficient as possible," the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
The legal and legal framework for this type of cooperation will be provided by the Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed by the Ministers of Health of Serbia and Belarus in Minsk, adds the statement of the Ministry of Health.
Waiting lists in Serbia
They added that Belarus is "achieving enviable results" in that area, while in Serbia, despite the significant increase in the number of donors this year, there is still a waiting list.
According to previously published data for this year, there are currently around 1.800 patients on the waiting list for organ transplantation in Serbia.
Some of the patients are still they go to Belarus for a transplant at their own expense, and as Ivana Jović from the "Donation is Heroism" association, which was transplanted in Minsk a few years ago, told "Vreme" before, the transplant and all the procedures cost around 100.000 euros.
For a kidney in The famous basketball coach Duško Vujošević also went to Belarus recently.
How many transplants are done in Serbia?
According to the data of the Directorate for Biomedicine of the Ministry of Health, in the period from January 1, 2025 to the last day of August, 45 cadaveric organ transplants and 28 corneal transplants were performed in Serbia.
12 hearts, nine livers and 24 kidneys were transplanted.
15 donors were realised, and at the same time, 13 families refused to grant consent for organ transplantation of deceased family members.
The number of transplants by the end of August this year surpassed the number performed during 2024, when nine donors were realized and 30 cadaveric organ transplants were performed, and in addition, 14 corneas were transplanted.
Montenegro: Five kidney transplants per year at the expense of the state
While Serbia is negotiating the transfer of patients for transplantation at the expense of the state, Montenegro is already implementing this program.
In Minsk, in early August 2024, the first kidney transplant was performed for a Montenegrin citizen at the expense of the state.
Last year, the Health Insurance Fund of Montenegro signed an agreement with the competent institutions in Belarus, according to which it covers the costs of kidney transplants for five patients per year.
