30th edition of the Advanced course in Spanish language
The annual edition of the “Curso Superior Internacional en Donación y Trasplante de Órganos y Tejidos” took place from the 11th to the 13th of February. Since 1991, this has been the 30th edition of the course in Spanish language. So far, a total of 1356 participants from Spain and Latin America have been trained, including the 41 attendants of this course.
The course has been carried out for three days in Barcelona and Sant Hilari Sacalm. Teamwork in small groups and a good educational environment have favoured the knowledge acquisition.
An innovative element to be highlighted is the collaboration of the social robot “James”, who accompanied the teachers and students during the course.
The evaluation results have been very positive, with an overall average of 4.93 over 5.
Our congratulations to all the faculty and staff members who have made the course another success!
8th Intermediate TPM course in Slovenia
Our long-lasting relationship with Slovenija-transplant has resulted in the 8th TPM Intermediate course addressed to Slovenian health care professionals. Thirty-three participants have been trained in this edition, which has taken place in the beautiful Logarska-dolina from the 29th to the 31st of January.
One new feature of the course program has been the inclusion of the donation after circulatory death topic, as the they 
would like to start implementing DCD program in Slovenian hospitals. Our special thanks to Dr. Danica Avsec and the faculty team for making the course successful.
VI International Workshop on Uncontrolled and Controlled DCD
The VI International Workshop on Uncontrolled and Controlled DCD, organized by Aula Clinic, Hospital Clinic and DTI Foundation has recently been held in Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain. The two full days of activities included clinical cases and lectures related with practices regarding the results of transplantation for organs like kidney, liver, lung and heart.
The 42 participants from 13 countries also attended four workshops including organ recovery in animal lab, created with the aim of better understanding the best practices performed in DCD around the world. These professionals have been taught about how this organ donation system for transplantation works in different countries in Europe and new proposals have been made for further improvement.
DCD now contributes to 24% of deceased donors in Spain so local speakers, together with experts from England and Italy shared with the audience their experience, progresses, discussing about solutions for obstacles, concerns, and possible actions to go forward.
The participants are very satisfied with the course underlining the importance of the new expertise acquired in the fields of uncontrolled and controlled DCD.
ODISSeA – Launch of Postgraduate Programme in Organ Donation
On January 7th 2020, the Postgraduate Programme in Organ Donation started with 303 participants from Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand.
The aim of the Postgraduate comes from the need for a specialized training programme that builds adequate knowledge, skills and attitude in organ donation to improve the number of specialists that will efficiently coordinate the process of organ donation in these Southeast Asian countries.
During the next 9 months, the participants will be trained in through a blended methodology (online and face-to-face), including: webinars with international experts, self-study online modules, local seminars, on-the-job improvement projects, an awareness event and an international assessment seminar. The participants will count on the support of international experts in the field, as well as their local faculty, who previously completed the ODISSeA Train the Trainers programme. They will accompany and support the participants throughout the postgraduate, and will translate the theoretical knowledge to the local reality.
These participants will be the first generation to complete the Postgraduate Programme in Organ Donation certified and, equivalent to 30 ECTS.
Kunming international meetings in December
Two international meetings have taken place in Kunming, China, from 4 to 8 December 2019, with the common theme of organ donation. Jointly organized by the China Organ Transplantation Development Foundation (COTDF) and DTI Foundation - Donation & Transplantation Institute, were hosted by the First People's Hospital of Kunming and the Affiliated Ganmei Hospital of Kunming Medical College.
The 1st International Workshop on Leadership, Management, Quality & Innovation in Organ Procurement was held from December 4 to 6. The Workshop's was organized through a dynamic and innovative training methodology and it was attended by 86 participants from 36 countries. As a result of this international meeting, a set of agreed recommendations were reached to strengthen organ donation in the countries of the One Belt & One Road Initiative, with the intention of being published in a next future.
Moreover, the next two days, December 7 and 8, the 4th China International Organ Donation Conference (CIODC) & the One Belt & One Road Symposium on Organ Donation Development and International Cooperation, brought together 1,200 international representatives who jointly discussed the latest trends and challenges that the Belt & Road region countries face in organ and tissue donation programs.
Our gratitude goes to all those involved in this great project and their commitment with the best practices of organ donation around the world!
DTI Community charitable events in 2019
Thanks to the charitable events organized bt DTI Community this autumn, the social department of DTI Foundation got several donations from friends, colleagues and all those who were interested in its scholarship program. The goal of these events was to promote education and training in organ donation and transplantation among healthcare professionals that live in under-resourced countries. All these donations will be entirely destined for these scholarships.
On October 19th and 20th, the theatre company “Helena Teatre”, an amateur company based in Gràcia district, in Barcelona, performed the play “Bola de neu” and on November 20th, more than 100 music lovers enjoyed four acts of classical music at el Petit Palau, the litle auditorium of Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona.
The concert began with a group of a violin, a cello and a piano, playing two original pieces from Frank Bridge’s “Miniatures for Piano Trio”. Right after, a pianist, two violinists, one violist and a cellist played Antonín Dvořák. A piano duo continued the concert, with two young students playing without a partiture pieces of Chaminade and Schostakovich. Finally, three teachers from the Music Conservatory of Barcelona ended the act performing Felix Mendelssohn.
DTI Community thanks everybody who gave support to these events and all of those who donated to the cause even though they could not attend.
We hope to do it all again very soon!
15th Congress of the International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement, Dubai
DTI representatives participated in the 15th International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement (ISODP) Congress held in Intercontinental Festival City (Dubai) during November 14th – 16th. It was a big reunion where they had time to catch up with friends, colleagues and future partners.
They presented nine abstracts during the different sessions including those related to educational European projects, International Master in Donation and Transplantation and the training programs in China. There was also representation from our colleagues of Saudi Arabia presenting the results of the project of Quality Management Implementation and the long-term relationship with SEHA (Abu Dhabi Health Services).
Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi deserves a special mention as their Organ Procurement Unit (OPU) was recognized with the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Certification. Credits go to their TPM team hard work during the past few months in developing and implementing Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs), and the collaboration between SEHA and DTI Foundation.
5th Intermediate Training Course in UAE
The 5th Intermediate Training Course in Transplant Procurement Management (TPM) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was held in Ajman on November 10th – 12th in the Ajman Medical College.
The course hosted 54 participants from different hospitals in the UAE, and both, local and international faculty. The lectures and workshops were focused on the critical pathway on organ donation, making special emphasis on the national legal framework, as well as the declaration of brain death.
It was a great opportunity for all these healthcare professionals to gather and share knowledge and expertise on regards of organ donation and transplantation.
25th TPM Advanced International Training Course
This 25th English edition of the Advanced International Training Course was a special one. Not only because of the anniversary but also for having the biggest group of participants at this course since its first edition in 1994. 20 countries and 24 nationalities were represented among the 61 participants that are now members of the great TPM family.
When it comes to organ donation, they face the same needs and difficulties in places like Jamaica, Vietnam, India, Thailand, UAE, Japan, Latvia, Greece and Trinidad & Tobago among others. Participants learnt from each other and from our dedicated faculty team about the possibilities of improvement in this field within the course educational program.
Hopefully, they took this knowledge back home to work on it together with some good advices from our international experts so it is likely that we will meet again in future projects.
There was a farewell dinner party with a birthday cake and cava to make a toast for 25 more years to come!
We are already working on the next edition that will be held in October from 19th to 23rd, 2020.
DTI Community reunites former students during TPM breakfast
DTI Community, following its objective to connect healthcare professionals and students dedicated to organ donation and transplantation, has put together two TPM breakfasts for former students of Transplant Procurement Management courses, one in Mérida (México) and in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).
The first one took place on October 24th in Mérida, México, during the celebration of the XXV Latin American and Caribbean Transplant Congress, October 23 to 26.
During this breakfast, the attendants were able to enjoy interesting chats between professionals and grow their network of contacts, as well as listening to a presentation about DCD programs in the world, a presentation by a TPM alumnus.
Also, a new scholarship was given to a Mexican healthcare professional during the TPM Breakfast in Mérida, on October 24th. This scholarship, given to the Mexican doctor Santiago Martínez Bernal, covers the whole TPM Advanced Course that is going to take place in February 2020 in Barcelona.
The second TPM breakfast will be organized very soon, on November 13th at 7 am in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, within the 15th Organ Donation Congress (ISODP), which will be taking place between November 14th and 16th. It will be held at the same venue of the Congress in Intercontinental Festival City and former TPM students, as well as ESADE alumni, are invited.
DTI Community wants to thank all of those who attended the breakfast in Mérida, and we welcome and invite everyone who is interested in coming to the breakfast in Dubai.
Please register here to confirm attendance: https://bit.ly/2PvSaPV
