Organ donation in Croatia: the importance of a national champion, a comprehensive plan, and international collaborations
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The Republic of Croatia is a global leader in organ donation and transplantation despite having fewer resources and more modest healthcare expenditures than other countries in the European Union. The results of an extensive literature review were combined with expert input in an iterative multi-step data collection and evaluation process designed to assess trends in Croatian organ donation and transplantation and identify key elements, policy changes, and drivers of the system that have contributed to its success. Multiple sources of evidence were used in this study, including primary documents, national and international transplantation reports, and insights from critical informants and content experts. The results highlight several key organizational reforms that have substantially improved the performance of the Croatian transplant program. Our findings emphasize the importance of strong central governance led by an empowered national clinical leader acting under the direct auspices of the Ministry of Health and a comprehensive and progressive national plan. The Croatian transplant system is notable for its integrated approach and efficient manner of managing scarce health resources. Collectively, the results suggest that Croatia has become nearly self-sufficient due to its systematic implementation of the guiding principles for organ donation and transplantation.
Date Issued
2023-05-25
Date Acceptance
2023-04-14
Citation
Transplant International, 2023, 36
ISSN
0934-0874
Publisher
Frontiers Media S.A.
Journal / Book Title
Transplant International
Volume
36
Copyright Statement
© 2023 Mah, Johnston-Webber, Prionas, Bušić, Streit, Wharton, Mossialos and Papalois. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37305341
PII: 11011
Subjects
Croatia
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
organ donation
organ transplantation
Science & Technology
Surgery
transplant system
Transplantation
transplantation policy
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Switzerland
Article Number
11011
Date Publish Online
2023-05-25