ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Several events inspired us to collect data on organ transplantation in Poland (2016: the 50th anniversary of the first transplantation and the 20th anniversary of Polish Transplant Coordinating Center Poltransplant). The paper aims at presenting comprehensive data on all organ transplants, beginning with the first in 1966 (deceased kidney) until the end of 2014. METHODS: Source documents were reports published in Poltransplant Bulletin, a website registry managed by Poltransplant, reports by the Transplantation Council and by the Transplantation Institute of Warsaw. A source data enabled us to establish a preliminary report, presented for verification during the 12th Congress of the Polish Transplantation Society. RESULTS: By the end of 2014, the total number of organ transplants was 26,691. Kidney transplantation is the most common (total number = 19,812). The number of living kidney transplants is low, about 50 per year. The number of liver part transplants from living donors is relatively high, 20 to 30 annually. The program of deceased liver transplantation results in more than 300 transplants yearly. The first heart transplantation was in 1985, but the number of these procedures has been decreasing. No significant increase in the number of lung transplantations was noted. CONCLUSIONS: The number of organ transplantations from deceased donors places Poland in the middle among European countries. The number of living donor kidney transplants is lower than in other countries; therefore a living donor liver transplantation program belongs to leading programs. Progress of lung transplantation has been slow. The development is highlighted by vascularized composite tissue transplantations of the hands and face. The strength of the report lies in its reliability and completeness. Numbers are the unique source of information to be used and referred to in the literature.
