Iran performs nearly 80 organ transplants during US-Israel 40-day war

Deputy Director of Iranian Society of Organ Donation Omid Qobadi says nearly 80 organ transplants were performed in Iran during 40 days of war imposed on the country by the United States and the Israeli regime, which began late February.

Like all countries involved in a war, Iran experienced a sharp decline in organ transplantation over the past year or two, and especially during the US-Israel aggression, Qobadi told Tasnim news agency in an interview published on Thursday.

He cited lack of medicine, equipment and medical workers as well as disruption in the air transport of organs and in communication networks as among the important factors behind such a decline.

Therefore, he added, Iran has developed a protocol for organ donation during war and post-war crises to compensate for the shortages.

Despite this, he maintained that nearly 80 organ transplants were conducted from February 28 to April 8.

He noted that Iran has been ranked first in organ donation in Asia for years, showing the altruistic spirit of the Iranian people and great cultural works carried out in this regard.

Qobadi hailed the “best performance” of Iranian teams specialized in organ transplantation.

The Iranian official noted that out of about 200 countries in the world, only 79 countries have the ability to perform organ transplants.

He described organ transplantation as a “very complex” task and added that only countries that have reached the pinnacle of the health system are able to carry it out.

“Iran also ranks first in West Asia in terms of its health system,” he said.

“One of Iran's important achievements is that all vital organ transplants are performed in the country with very good results. Iran is even called the ‘emperor of liver transplant’ because about 700 liver transplants are performed annually in just one center in [the city of] Shiraz, a figure that is even higher than many centers in the United States,” Qobadi explained.

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