Launching of the international community of DTI Foundation
DTI Community, the new international project of DTI Foundation (Institute of Donation and Transplantation) was presented by the executive director of DTI, Dr María Paula Gómez, during the framework of the celebration that was organized in the Parc Científic de Barcelona to commemorate the 10 years of life of DTI.
This proposal is a new community that brings together all the people and institutions that share knowledge about organ donation and transplantation. Its objective is to disseminate information about organ donation and transplantation and to promote the development of the DTI Foundation at global level.
Thus, the new initiative of DTI aims to connect students of the international training courses offered by the Foundation, the Transplant Procurement Management (TPM), with all the people and institutions interested in organ donation.
The main values of the community are respect, diversity and transparency and it is composed of four different profiles of people: students, friends, volunteers and ambassadors.
In addition, this project offers great opportunities and services for its members to satisfy the diversity of interests and needs that prevail in the sector. These benefits are: publication of job offers, conducting specialized webinars with internationally recognized health professionals, publication of news and events in the field of donation and transplantation and a solidarity bag, which aims to collect funds for training purposes for healthcare professionals from around the world.
Contributes to improve other people’s lives. Join the DTI Community by registering at http://www.dticommunity.org/
DTI Foundation: 10 years saving lives through donation and transplantation
On 10th of May, took place the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the DTI Foundation (Donation & Transplantation Institute) at the Parc Científic of Barcelona. More than a hundred attendees went to the event. Since its formation, DTI has carried out 21 international cooperation projects and has earned 123,500 years of life.
Many authorities attended to the ceremony, such as Dr Martí Manyalich, the president of the DTI Foundation, Dr Beatriz Dominguez, the director of the National Transplant Organization (ONT), Dr Jaume Tort, the director of the Catalan Transplant Organization (OCATT), Dr Francesc Cardellach, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Barcelona (UB) and Mr. Ignasi Belda, deputy director of the Parc Científic of Barcelona.
During the celebration, several presentations were made. The director of the ONT, Dr Beatriz Dominguez talked about the organ donation and transplantation in Spain and around the world. Also, it was officially presented the DTI Community by the executive director of the Foundation, Dr María Paula Gómez. Dr Manyalich was also honoured with the honorary distinction of 'Hippocratic Physician', awarded by the Hippocratic Movement of the Island of Kos, Greece, homeland of the “Father of Medicine” Hippocrates. This award recognizes doctors who have distinguished themselves by two key aspects in the art of medicine, according to Hippocrates: scientific excellence and dedication to humanity.
Moreover, congratulatory videos of some of the international experts working with the Foundation who could not attend the event in person but who were present on this special day were also projected.
Leading organization in transfer of knowledge in organ donation and transplant
DTI Foundation was born in 2008 with the aim of helping to increase the donation in the world and save more lives. The entity facilitates and improves resources so that organ donation is possible all over the world.
The Foundation's commitment to society is to improve the quality of life of the population and to promote the development of tissues and regenerative medicine. The resources in which the organization has invested to achieve are the knowledge and the training of health professionals through the international educational program TPM (Transplant Procurement Management). Operating since 1991, more than 14,000 healthcare professionals have been trained in more than 100 countries around the world.
Therefore, DTI has professionalized the donation and transplant activity through the life experience and knowledge of all the people who are part of the Foundation. Consequently, it is helping to raise awareness about that the organs of deceased patients can be lives for the patients who are waiting for them.
A donation is a great human act: by the doctors who know how to transmit the need to give the organs and by the family members, who are generous and choose the best possible decision.
Dr Martí Manyalich, president of DTI Foundation.
First donation after brain death diagnosys in Manipal Hospital Goa, India
On 6th April it was performed the very first donation after brain death diagnosys in Manipal Hospital of Goa. As this was the first time for this kind of donation there were several new scenarios for the transplant team such as the creation of a green corridor for the transport of the professionals involved and the goverment permission for the procurement of the organs which was asked directly to the Health Secretary Ashok Kumar.
DTI has participated actively as consulting expert with the Goa state medical professionals in organ donation (see DTI news about Goa 2017 ). Following to the interest of the Ima Goa state, 3 professionals were trained by TPM-DTI Foundation in organ donation and transplantation.
All 3 doctors were part of the mentioned transplant process; Dr Amol Mahaldar did the Counseling, Dr Divya Amol was the organ retrieval surgery anesthesiologist and Dr Mahesh Panche, who was awarded with a scholarship by Verdés Industries last year, coordinated the process as new Transplant Coordinator in Goa.
Quoting Dr. Amol Mahaldar "Hopefully other departments of Goa Medical College will swing into action soon and we can have local organ allocations. Your visit to Goa and suggesting the measures to improve brain death diagnosis and Counseling cane in most handy".
We hopefully will be there to give you support!
Collaboration between DTI Foundation and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to implement a deceased organ donation program
The collaboration between DTI Foundation and the UAE started in 2015, initially with an educational program aiming to improve the knowledge and skills of the health care professionals involved in the organ donation program. A total of 250 physicians and nurses, mainly from the high potential hospitals, have been trained as Transplant Procurement Managers (TPMs).
A second phase of the cooperation program started in 2017 adding another layer of support to the program. A team of DTI international experts have been visiting UAE hospitals. During the hospital visits, interviews with healthcare professionals have been conducted, different educational initiatives have taken place and an alert system for donor identification have been outlined. Further recommendations for the establishment of in-hospitals organ procurement units have been developed.
The first visit took place in July 2017, since then six brain death patients have become organ donors resulting in 19 organs being recovered. The cardiac, liver and lung transplant programs have commenced and an organ sharing system between UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been implemented.
In April 2018 the third visit materialized including a meeting with the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) CEO Dr. Mohamed Rashed Al Qubaisi who offered his complete support to the deceased organ donation program.
The main goal for this visit was the development of quality control tools based on the Organ Donation European Quality System (ODEQUS) model. Also, a meeting for the implementation of an integrated kidney waiting list took place in SEHA Dialysis Services.
Further TPM courses and expert visits have been scheduled for 2018 to continue with the cooperation plan aiming to achieve complete implementation of the deceased organ donation program.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and DTI Foundation keep cooperating in the framework of the implementation of a quality management system on organ donation
Last November, the SCOT (Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation) and DTI Foundation signed a collaborative agreement to improve the clinical aspects related to the deceased organ donation on the country. This 3-year program sponsored by the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia includes knowledge exchange visits to increase the detection of possible donors, healthcare professionals training activities and the development of an IT tool based on the successful model ODEQUS (Organ Donation European Quality System). The program aims to increase the Saudi donation rate up to 10 pmp.
In this framework, six hospitals participate in the pilot phase of the project: King Abdulaziz National Guard Medical City in Riyadh, King Saud Medical City in Riyad, King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Dammam, King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah and King Abdulaziz Hospital in Jeddah.
During the first week of March (5th-9th), a Saudi delegation composed by Dr. Bicher Attar (SCOT medical director), Dr. Elsayed Gadalla (SCOT medical coordinator), Dr. Mohammed Shalaby (Head of the ICU department in King Fahd Hospital, Jeddah) and Dr. Rasheed Alhubail (Critical care consultant in King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam) came to Barcelona and Madrid to visit reference centers and meet with the competent authorities to know more about the Spanish donation model.
Meeting with Dr. Manyalich in Hospital Clínic de Barcelona during the visit of the Saudi delegation.
Until this date, the project has the support from the following centers: Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, OCATT (Organització Catalana de Transplantaments), Hospital Dr. Josep Trueta, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón and the ONT (Organización National de Trasplantes).
During the last knowledge exchange activity last month (March 19th – 22nd), DTI experts met in situ with the participant hospitals’ representatives to introduce and provide guidance about the internal audits methodology.
Meeting with the hospital representatives in King Saud Medical City, Riyadh (March 2018)
Moreover, since January 2018, DTI Foundation has led monthly videoconferences with the SCOT and the project responsible from the participant hospitals to monitor the project’s evolution and implement the internal audits to evaluate the hospitals’ performance in terms of deceased donation.
March 2018 monthly videoconference
All this work and efforts converge with the objective to enhance the communication between the SCOT and the donor hospitals by identifying areas in which additional specialized expertise or training are required and establishing a proper action plan.
Annual Report 2017 DTI Foundation
We are glad to present you the Annual Report of DTI Foundation for 2017.
To know more about our activity (Educational programs; Congresses attendance; European and other International Projects) you can take a look:
https://issuu.com/dtifoundation/docs/annual_report_2017_dti_foundation
4th Intermediate Training Course in Croatia
TPM-DTI Foundation together with the Ministry of Health and Donor Network of Croatia, headed by Dr. Mirela Bušić, National Transplant Coordinator and Dr. Nikola Žgrablić, respectively, organized the 4th Intermediate Training Course in Transplant Procurement Management, in Čiovo - Trogir, from March 26th – 28th, 2018. This training course brought together 32 representatives, mainly Croatians but also representatives from Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro.
10 years ago, the Croatian health care system was greatly challenged by Eurotransplant membership. At that time, Croatia was not yet EU member and was facing different challenges to improve organ donation and transplantation. Organ shortage had led some surrounding countries to find alternatives in living donation, but Croatia, recognized deceased donation as the most appropriate source of organ donors for transplantation. Proper ethical framework, already established in alignment with international best practices and legislation based on “soft” presumed consent since 1988, has grounded public trust in deceased organ donation in Croatia.
Croatia has boosted its organ donation rate to 31.13 (donors pmp) in 2017 and transplantation rates up to 90 (transplants pmp) in the past 10 years. With proven excellency and over 200 healthcare professionals trained by TPM since 2006, one of the major accomplishments that positively influenced Croatia’s Organ Donation National & Transplant program. Our recognition and congratulations!
First Summit in Organ Donation and Transplantation in the Caribbean area was held in Trinidad and Tobago
Last March the DTI team composed by Dr. Rudolf Garcia Gallont; Dr. Fernando Salgado; Dr. Rafael Reyes Acevedo and from DTI Dr. Maria Paula Gomez and Dr. Entela Kondi visited Trinidad and Tobago and during the visit were involved in several activities and events happening in the country.
On the 11th of march was held the First Summit in Organ Donation and Transplantation in the Caribbean area. The event was organized by the North Branch of the Medical Association of Trinidad and Tobago and the National Organ Transplantation Unit (NOTU) and strongly supported by DTI Foundation and REPSOL.
The main aim of the event was to bring together all the countries in the region, to encourage them about the donation activities and to try to find connections and synergies to move forward the program. The minister of health of T&T, the president of the T&T Medical Association, the Spanish ambassador, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human and Social Development CARICOM, the advisor health system and services PAHO T&T, the director of REPSOL in T&T were the honored guests who participated in the summit. Excellent discussion on the sub regional approach on Organ Donation and Transplantation in the Caribbean was made and the critical role of CARICOM in ensuring coordination and support among the Caribbean countries was highlighted.
Following the summit, the DTI team together with the Trinities colleagues participated in the “9th Annual Walkathon” an awareness activity organized in recognition of World Kidney Day (March 8th, 2018) from the Kidney Recipient Support Group of Trinidad and Tobago with the objective to raise awareness about kidney health, as well as to provide support to transplanted patient.Sharing the enthusiasm of the health professionals and the public regarding organ donation and transplantation was a wonderful experience.
On the following days the experts of DTI together with the representatives of the NOTU had the chance to organize official meetings at the Ministry of Health; The PAHO; different hospitals and dialysis centers talking with the experts in the field to assure the continuity of the donation and transplantation program in the country.
REPSOL, a strong support to the DTI for the development of the project, was present in all the activities and a meeting for the collaboration continuity was made with the director Mr. David Allan.
We are very thankful to all our colleagues and friends in Trinidad and we look forward seeing the program growing and consolidated all over the region.
Face to face period of the International Master in Donation and Transplantation of Organs, Tissues and Cells at UB
From the 5th until the 16th of March took place the first face to face period of the International Master in Donation and Transplantation of Organs, Tissues and Cells (University of Barcelona & Transplant Procurement Management) and the Master in Clinical Investigation, specialty in Organs, Tissues and Cells (University of Barcelona). There were also several participants that took these courses as a postgraduate training.
During these two weeks, three courses were held in the Faculty of Medicine in the University of Barcelona: Quality, Management and Leadership in Organ Procurement & Transplantation (March 5-7), with 20 participants, Organ Procurement (March 7-9) with 22 participants and Organ Transplantation (March 12-16) with 20 participants. In each course participants came from 11 different countries.
These courses included theory sessions as well as workshops where the participants put into practice the knowledge acquired in the previous online courses that took place from October 2017 till March 2018. The online training courses offered through the TPM virtual platform help participants to acquire and strengthen the concepts on the field and prepare the participants to come to Barcelona to take part into the practical part of the program.
This year, several new activities took place specially in the Organ Transplantation course. Our participants also attended a 3D live kidney living donor robotic transplant at Hospital Clinic, they interacted with the medical team and had the opportunity to ask questions about the procedure.
1st Advanced Training Course in Transplant Procurement Management in Abu Dhabi-UAE
On February 25th to March 1st, the Health Services Company (SEHA) were proud to host the DTI Foundation to co-organized the first Advanced TPM training course in Abu Dhabi. Earlier, on February 23th and 24th, The Multi-organ Transplant Symposium at CCAD was held, gathering transplant specialist with the participation of Dr. Maria Paula Gómez.
Before the course opening, a press conference attended by the Ministry of Health and Prevention took place to announce the plans under the new National Program for Organ Transplantation. Dr Marti Manyalich was honored guest.
Likewise, Dr Ali Al Olibaidli, group chief academic affairs officer, assembled the International Society of Organ Donation (ISODP) board members.
As a result of these significant meetings, the course attendees, 53 healthcare professionals from across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, were privileged to learn lessons from organ donation experts from a variety of backgrounds and origins including Italy, Portugal, Belgium, France, USA, Germany, Canada and Spain.
Since 2016 with the introduction of the Transplant Law and DTI support, 6 cases of deceased donors allowed to graft several organs. It is hoped that this training course will optimize the opportunities that are now arising, transforming the lives of hundreds of patients across the principality.
