A webinar was held within the scope of "Organ Donation Week" between 03-09th November 2020. At the webinar organized under the coordination of the Organ Transplant Coordinator, our Rector Prof. Dr. Rümeyza Kazancıoğlu carried out an opening speech. Our Rector Prof. Dr. Rümeyza Kazancıoğlu stated; “I would like to welcome all our esteemed speakers and participants. It would not have been possible for our webinar, which we organized as part of the Organ Donation Week between 03-09th of November, to exclude any information and processes about the Pandemic. As you know, all hospitals, healthcare professionals, our students and our patients were affected in many ways during the Pandemic we lived through. However, the group that was most affected during this pandemic was our group with chronic diseases and those awaiting organ transplantation. We began our work when our first patient was diagnosed in Turkey in March 2020. We came together with our team and updated our decisions. We will share our experiences and the process in our webinar today. "Our rector concluded her opening speech by underlining that chronic kidney transplantation is a must for patients with chronic kidney disease.
Our Rector Prof. Dr. Following Rümeyza Kazancıoğlu, Bezmialem Vakıf University Organ and Tissue Transplant Coordinator Cemile Keskin Toka discussed "Organ Donation Processes". “Our priority is always donating organs from cadavers first. We always strive for this. We usually discuss kidney transplants. The very low donation numbers have dropped further due to Covid-19. There is a serious decrease in the number of donated organs. Our number of live donors has also decreased considerably. In previous years, we were organizing many events during the Organ Donation Week. We were opening stands and raising awareness of our patients on organ donation. Due to the pandemic, our likewise activities have decreased ".
Ministry of Health Kidney Transplant Scientific Committee Member Prof. Dr. Hasan Taşçı also talked about "Current Situation in Organ Transplants During Pandemic Period". Hasan Taşçı: “First of all, thank you very much for inviting me to this event. As it is known, we are still far behind in cadaver transplantation as a country. As a university, you are very lucky because our Rector is always very faithful in transplantation and always supports us". In addition, Prof. Dr. Hasan Taşçı also talked about the transplant process during the Covid-19 Pandemic. He stated that if there are any Covid-19 positive findings in a transplant from cadaver, the organs are definitely not taken. He stated that if there is any contact with the live donor, it is waited for 28 days and screening tests are performed and the implementation processes of the Ministry of Health are followed.
Internal Medicine Department academician Prof. Dr. Meltem Gürsu from Bezmialem Vakıf University Hospital Internal Medicine Department , shared her views on "Transport Processes and Patient Recommendations During Pandemic Period". Prof. Dr. Meltem Gürsu stated, “We are going through a very difficult period both as a country and the world. The beginning of the pandemic process was actually more difficult for us. We were able to adjust to the normal a little more recently. After the first case was reported in Turkey, we started to pay more attention to precautions. At that time, we tried to bring as few of our patients as possible to hospitals. We made an intense effort to protect our kidney transplant patients" she said. Prof. Dr. Meltem Gürsu; "Our transplant patients are expected to experience Covid-19 a little more severely. New publications on this subject have started to be published in academic and scientific journals. There are warnings that the symptoms may be more severe. Our transplant patients need to be more careful about social isolation. We, too, show maximum care for our patients. The most important points you should pay attention to are to stay away from public environments as much as possible, to pay attention to masks, distance and cleaning rules in places such as public transportation and shopping malls. I also ask you to take a break from the crowded family visits". The webinar ended after the questiona and answers sessions, where our patient Hasan Hüseyin Yanık, who received a kidney transplant in our hospital, conveyed his feelings and thoughts.
