Iran leads organ donation in West Asia, performs all types of transplants

Iran ranks first in organ donation among West Asian countries and is the only country in the region that performs all types of organ transplant surgeries, according to the Iranian Society of Organ Donation (ISOD).

Omid Qobadi, the vice president of ISOD, said Iran’s organ donation rate increased from 0.2 per million population (PMP) in 2000, two years before organ donation officially started in the country, to 14.3 PMP in 2019, before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. This marked a 70-fold rise, placing Iran among the “good” countries in the qualitative ranking that ranged from weak, average, good, and very good to excellent.

However, Qobadi said Iran’s organ donation rate dropped by 50 percent during the pandemic and recorded 7.9 PMP, following the global trend of a 30- to 70-percent reduction in organ donation. He added that in 2021, the rate showed a recovery and reached 11.72 PMP, and slightly increased to 12.2 PMP in 2022.

“As per the organ donation index, we have not yet returned to the pre-pandemic era, but under the current conditions, Iran ranks first in organ donation among all Asian countries,” Qobadi said.

He also highlighted the activities of different transplantation centers in Iran, saying that kidney transplants are performed almost all over the country, but lung transplants are only done in Tehran and Shiraz, and occasionally in Mashhad.

He said there are 12 heart transplant centers and as many liver transplant centers across the country, as well as one intestinal transplantation center and two pancreas transplantation centers.

Qobadi emphasized that about 700 liver transplant surgeries are carried out annually in an active center in Shiraz, which puts Iran at the top of the world. The second place, he continued, belongs to a liver transplant center in Pittsburgh, USA, where 480 to 500 liver transplants are performed every year.

“The most important point is that the only West Asian country that does all types of transplant surgeries is Iran … We even perform pancreas transplantation, which has two active centers in Tehran and Shiraz.”

Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive or dead with the assent of the next of kin.

Common transplantations include kidneys, heart, liver, pancreas, intestines, lungs, bones, bone marrow, skin, and corneas.