title: Organ failure in Syria: initiating a national deceased donation program.
abstract: In the absence of formal registry data, the volume and causes of organ failure in Syria are difficult to establish with certainty. However, we evaluated in this study the extent of organ failure by collecting data from health care authorities in different medical institutions who are involved in caring for patients with organ failure. Subsequently, we assessed the problem of the widening gap between organ supply and demand in our country and we highlighted the obstacles to initiating a national deceased donation program as a viable option to address the challenge of organ shortage. The estimated prevalence of corneal blindness in Syria is 2.3 per one thousand population. The estimated incidence of viral-induced cirrhosis is 49 - 67 per one million population (pmp); these include both HCV and HBV, which constitute the leading causes of liver failure. We estimated the incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to be from 80 - 100 pmp. Obstacles to initiating a national deceased donation program include lack of awareness of the public at large and health care professionals to the importance of organ donation and transplantation. Other obstacles include lack of adequate resources in terms of finance, personnel and services and the unavailability of a national center for organ transplantation that influences public attitude, sets national guidelines and supervises all activities related to organ donation and transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Surgical Kidney Hospital, Ibn Alnafis Medical Complex, Damascus, Syria. bmsaeed2000@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Bassam
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saeed
authors.forename: Rania
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Derani
authors.forename: Maher
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hajibrahim
authors.forename: Jawad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roumani
authors.forename: Mohd Bassam
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Al-Shaer
authors.forename: Rida
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saeed
authors.forename: Sahar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Damerli
authors.forename: Rebhi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Al-Saadi
authors.forename: Bachar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kayyal
authors.forename: Milad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haddad
mesh_terms: D002102:Cadaver; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000639:trends*; D017093:Liver Failure / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000639:trends*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013593:Syria / Q000453:epidemiology; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014850:Waiting Lists