Deceased donor saves four lives in East Kazakhstan

A citizen of Kazakhstan saved four people, including a nine-year-old child, by donating his heart, kidneys and lungs for transplant, the Ministry of Healthcare reported. 

The donor was a 39-year-old man whose relatives consented to the transplant. The operation took place on Oct. 23 in the East Kazakhstan region.

«A male, born in 1977, received a heart; a female, born in 1962, received lungs; a child, born in 2015, received a kidney; and a female, born in 1966, obtained another kidney,» the statement read.

In Kazakhstan, an adult citizen who has been declared dead may become a deceased donor of tissues or organs. However, the transplant can be carried out only with the written consent of the spouse or the close relatives of the deceased. One donor may save up to seven lives.

Kazakhstan also permits living organ donation. To become a donor, individuals are required to sign a consent form authorizing health facilities to remove their organs and must also undergo a medical examination. Once these steps are completed, the ethics committee reviews the case, making the final decision on whether the transplant can proceed.

According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare, seven Kazakhstanis became deceased organ donors last year, while as of October 2024 there have been six. Currently, 4,080 patients are on the waiting list for transplant.

In October, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan announced plans to develop a shared information platform called Türktransplant. This collaborative system aims to streamline the search for organ donors across these countries and facilitate the organization of transplant procedures.