28th AFCH Exchange Days
Dr. Chloë Ballesté, Medical Director at DTI Foundation, recently participated in the 28th AFCH Exchange Days in Toulouse, France, from June 5 to June 7, 2024.
The ACFH (French Association of Hospital Coordinators) is an association of multidisciplinary health care professionals dedicated to organ donation that annually organizes training sessions and sessions to improve and exchange knowledge and creates networking between professionals and authorities.
This training organized by professionals for professionals provided a valuable platform to exchange knowledge in organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Dr. Ballesté was invited to talk about the best practices in the organ donation process.
EIT's HEI Initiative 2024 Pilot Phase Conclusion event
In collaboration with the University of Barcelona, DTI represented the TRUE project consortium, part of the first cohort of the EIT HEI Initiative. The event took place on June 3-4, 2024, in Brussels.
This event brought together representatives from all 65 projects of the three cohorts of the HEI Initiative’s Pilot Phase, the full initiative management team, delegates from each EIT Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), and various external stakeholders. The event was designed to provide participants with context as the HEI Initiative moves past the pilot phase. It offered insights into lessons learned and fostered a collaborative atmosphere. Keynotes and presentations from institutional leaders highlighted success stories and celebrated the Initiative's progress during the Pilot Phase.
Participants had the opportunity to network and engage in a poster presentation session, facilitating the building of new connections for future collaborations. It was a pleasure for us to be able to attend and be part of this event.
We thank all partners involved in this project led by the Universitat de Barcelona - StartUB! Universitat de Barcelona and implemented by Universidad de Extremadura, Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa, University of Montpellier, Sapiens Mindset, Siemens Healthineers and DTI Foundation.
DTI attends the fourth International Congress of Transplantation 2024
Dr. Chloë Ballesté, Medical Director of DTI Foundation, participated and presented at the 4th International Congress of Transplantation 2024 (ICOT 2024) in Mongolia. Top medical doctors and researchers gathered to share knowledge and exchange ideas on recent developments in the field of transplantation medicine from the 24th until the 26th of May.
Dr. Ballesté's had the opportunity to speak on "How to Implement a Sustainable Deceased Organ Donation Program: An International Perspective." This talk highlighted the critical need for sustainable organ donation and transplantation practices. In her presentation, Dr. Ballesté emphasized the importance of establishing strong frameworks for deceased organ donation that can be adapted to various healthcare systems worldwide. She also moderated a session and conducted a workshop on Family Approach.
During the congress, Dr. Ballesté was awarded with a medal for the contribution in the country. From DTI, it is an honour to see members of our team being recognized worldwide.
The Fourth International Congress of Transplantation 2024 allowed us to exchange knowledge with national and international experts in the field. We want to thank Prof. Batchuluun Pandaan and the Regulatory department of cells, tissue, organ transplant and CHD for inviting us. We hope we can continue attending in the future.
7th China International Organ Donation Conference 2023
We had the honor to co-organize the 7th China International Organ Donation Conference (CIODC) with the China Organ Transplantation Development Foundation (COTDF). Our President, Dr. Martí Manyalich, with other experts from DTI Foundation, attended the conference in Nanning, China from the 8th until the 10th to take part in the conference.
DTI president, Dr Marti Manyalich opened the ceremony on Dec 9th together with Dr. John Fung, President-elect of The Transplantation Society; Dr. Jiefu Huang, Chairman, China Human Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee and chair of the COTDF Advisory Borad; Dr. Haichao Lei, Vice-minister and deputy secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group of the National Health Commission.
A signing of Memorandum of Understanding was also held at the congress for cooperation projects between DTI Foundation and COTDF in the field of organ donation and transplantation under the Belt and Road Initiative.
The congress continued with the exchange of expertise and experience by local and international experts and scholars focused on four different themes: Leadership, Quality, Management and Innovation.
DTI experts participated in the following oral presentations:
- Martí Manyalich – Developing DCD practices worldwide
- Chloë Ballesté – How to maintain sustainable deceased organ donation system
- Chloë Ballesté – Highlights of challenges, actions and strategies in ESOT
- Carmen Blanco – Innovation in training of donation management
- Joaquim Albiol – Advancement in the use of perfusion machine
- Theo de By – Tissue Banking in Europe
- Zeljka Gavranovic – Quality program in clinical donation processes
- Zeljka Gavranovic – New approaches in organ donation
- Moisès Palou – Leadership and teambuilding in organ donation and transplantation
- David Paredes – Quality in the donation process and biovigilance
- David Paredes - Highlights of challenges, actions and strategies in EDTCO
- Seow Huey Choy – The impact of European-Mediterranean postgraduate program on organ donation and transplantation.
A work meeting on Belt & Road Cooperation Alliance on Organ Donation and Transplantation was held in the evening where we saw the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, represented by Dr Sun Xuyong and Sri Lanka, represented by Dr. Niroshan Seneviratne were elected as the additional rotating presidential members of the alliance, for China and International community respectively. In the same meeting, a scientific workgroup was formed among the local and international experts to work on the ‘Priorities on Management, Leadership, Innovation and Quality’ as a collaborative effort among the international communities to contribute to the improvement and advancement of organ donation and transplantation.
The event concluded successfully on December 10th, with the participation of over 750 experts from more than 30 countries. Through activities like keynote speeches and forums, the conference aimed to discuss cutting-edge topics extensively and profoundly in organ donation and transplantation.
The international experts were also invited to visit the Institute of Transplantation Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University. This visit provided them with insights into Guangxi's organ transplantation technology and the current status of organ donation in the region.
It was a pleasure for DTI to be able to co-host the event and share experiences with the attendees. It was a great opportunity to learn and exchange knowledge with international experts in the field.
Dr. Manyalich attends International Symposium in Ankara
Dr. Martí Manyalich, our President, attended the International Symposium: Brain Death and Circulatory Death that took place in Ankara, Turkey. From November 29th to November 30th, he actively participated in the symposium through different talks. The event was co-organized by the Turkish Transplantation Society and the Turkic World Transplantation Society
Dr. Manyalich had a presentation entitled: “Implementing DCD practices worldwide: is it feasible?” He explained how DCD practices are growing worldwide and how they are implemented in Spain. He also mentioned the importance of DCD training for all healthcare professionals who want to continue growing in the field.
We are honoured to have been invited to participate in this symposium by Dr. Mehmet Haberal, Past-President and TTS Symposium Chair.
TAIEX expert mission in Barbados: Moving forward together with EU expertise
“TAIEX FPI Expert Mission on National policy development on live donor and deceased organ donation and transplantation” took place from the 20th to the 24th of November in Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados. This event was organized in co-operation with the EU Delegation to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS and CARICOM/CARIFORUM.
Aiming to expand the existing live donor programs in the country and learning more about the implementation of a deceased organ transplantation program there were five international experts invited, all of them DTI collaborators:
- Dr. Chloë Ballesté, Director of International Cooperation and Development at DTI and associate professor at the University of Barcelona, Spain,
- Dr. Corinne Antoine, nephrologist consultant at Hospital Saint Louis, France.
- Dr. Zeljka Gavranovic, Consultant in anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine, Hospital Transplant Coordinator at the University Hospital Centre Sisters of Mercy, Croatia
- Dr. Jose Eduardo Silva Sousa, Hospital donation coordinator in Coimbra Hospital and University Center, Protugal.
- Dr. Shanti Sigh, Director of the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Agency, Guyana
They all presented on how the organ donation and transplantation models are organized in their countries, and the policies involved.
It was a pleasure for DTI to be able to have these experts be part of the TAIEX meeting and be able to exchange ideas with the Queen Elisabeth professionals and board of direction, the Ministry of Health of Barbados, and the EU delegation. We hope this visit will contribute to the good development of organ donation and transplantation in the country.
Organ Donation Advocacy and Coordination of Deceased Organ Transplantation Conference
Dr. Chloë Ballesté, Director of International Cooperation and Development at DTI, participated in the “Organ Donation Advocacy and Coordination of Deceased Organ Transplantation” conference in Hanoi, Vietnam.
During the conference, Dr. Ballesté shared her knowledge and international experience on the implementation of deceased organ donation programs and evaluated in round table sessions how to implement the most efficient system in Vietnam. She gave three presentations on donor detection, the family approach methods in the Spanish system and donor management.
Doctors and healthcare professionals from Vietnamese hospitals attended the conference and representatives from the Ministry of Health, Legal Department, and Hospital Administration, as well as the Deceased Organ Donor Advisor Network and hospital staff, participated in the roundtable discussions.
From DTI we want to thank the Vietnam National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation, which is under the Ministry of Health, and its head Prof. Dong Van He for inviting us to attend and participate during this congress.
European Solidarity Corps 2022
DTI has applied for this program. Thanks to this application, during 2022 DTI has been able to count with the participation of two volunteers. They have participated in two different projects for 9 months. The main goal of the activity has been to support the development and implementation of organ and tissue training programs. The reception of the volunteers in the Foundation has allowed them to be trained both in the field of donation and transplantation and in the learning training and cooperation.
The European Solidarity Corps (ESC), known until 2016 as European Voluntary Service (EVS), is an international volunteering program by the European Commission for young people to go individually or in teams to another country, usually from one European country to another, to work for a non-profit cause. Since 2017, the program also offers opportunities for European youth to get engaged as volunteers in their own communities.
Outstanding Concert in Luz de Gas
DTI Foundation is honored to have been able to co-organize a solidarity concert in Luz de Gas Barcelona. The concert, which took place last Thursday 17th of November, put together 4 different non-profit organizations to raise awareness about different challenges we face daily in our societies. The different organizations that also participated in the event were: Fundació Boscana, Kadiandú and Recuérdame Alzheimer.
The band Por Fin Viernes with his solidarity music played during the concert. Thanks to the dedication they have had throughout all these years we were able to raise awareness about organ donation.
DTI Foundation fundraised 1473.33€ which will be used for future scholarships. Our hope is that this concert will serve as a starting point for further training for healthcare professionals in developing.
Spreading awareness about our objectives requires the help and participation of the public, and it is through events and fundraisers like this concert that we can best achieve that mission.
International Conference for Initiatives on Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation
DTI Foundation participated in the International Conference for Initiatives on Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation in Abu Dhabi.
During the congress, Abu Dhabi’s Ministry of Health awarded our President Marti Manyalich, in recognition for his contribution to the organ donation and transplantation program in the country. Estephan Arredondo received the award as Dr. Martí Manyalich was not able to attend on those dates.
We are honored to have been recognized by Abu Dhabi’s Ministry of Health, H.E. Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Hamed, and we expect to keep collaborating with the country in the future.
Our team was in a stand in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from the 7th until the 9th of November. It has been a pleasure to see Dr. Chloë Ballesté and Estephan Arredondo present DTI Foundation and the educational programs during the event.
