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Press Release from the Organ Donation Congress in Berlin


Transplant Physicians from All Over the World Meet for the First Time in Germany

Organ Shortage and Promotion of Organ Donation are Central Issues at the 2009 Organ Donation Congress

Berlin, October 5, 2009. The Tenth International Organ Donation Congress of the International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement (ISODP) takes place for the first time in Germany this year, hosted by the Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation (DSO). Over 700 participants are expected from more than 60 countries. Donor organ shortage and the promotion of organ donation are the key issues of the programme comprising 47 lectures, workshops, and poster presentations.

“Transplant medicine has progressed worldwide but continues to be limited by a shortage of donor organs. The aim of this year’s congress is to discuss the effects of the chronic organ shortage and how it could be alleviated by looking in detail at the various strategies used in different parts of the world to promote organ donation,” says Professor Günter Kirste, DSO Chief Medical Officer, commenting on the focus of this year’s congress. According to him, a crucial aim of the congress is to promote international exchange among physicians, nurses, politicians, and representatives from self-help groups. The emphasis is on combining scientific lectures with practically oriented workshops. Hands-on exercises in the use of perfusion machines, for instance, offer participants opportunities for exchanging experience. Professor Kirste emphasizes that this is the very first congress that attempts to provide a comprehensive overview of organ transplantation worldwide, looking at the medical, legal, and ethical issues.

The scientific programme begins with an introductory session on organ donation throughout the world featuring a presentation by ISODP President Howard M. Nathan. Lecturers from Pakistan, Singapore, and Saudi-Arabia will be speaking about, among other things, the commercialization of organ donation. Experts from the USA, Greece, and Belgium will be talking on the subject of transplant tourism. Medical options to increase the number of donor organs will be discussed in the session on donor management. Another focus will be on strategies to optimize the preparation of organs for transplant. The European perspective and changing strategies for organ allocation will also be presented. Other subjects on the agenda will be the prospects of organ donation, religious and ethical issues, the role of living organ donation, the use of extended donor criteria, and also the spectacular cases of face and arm transplants. The congress will conclude with a discussion of the impact of the media on organ donation.

„It is a particular pleasure to have the European Transplantation Coordinators Organization (ETCO) working with us as a partner offering workshops within the framework of our international congress, and we also warmly welcome the strong representation from the Eastern European countries, for whose delegates the programme will be offering a Russian language workshop,“ says Kirste at the opening press conference.


The congress venue is the Berliner Congress Center (BCC). A detailed programme can be found at www.isodp2009.org.


Other cooperative partners of the congress are the Transplantation Society (TTS), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the European Transplant Coordinators Organization (ETCO).



Further information is available from:
International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement ISODP
www.transplantation-soc.org/sections.php?s=05
The Transplantation Society TTS
www.transplantation-soc.org
A GIFT FOR LIFE
www.fairtransplant.org
European Transplant Coordinators Organization ETCO
www.etco.org

Contact:
Birgit Blome, Head of Communications
Nadine Körner, Public Relations
Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation
Deutschherrnufer 52, 60594 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Phone: + 49 69 677328 9400 or -9411, Fax: + 49 69 677328 9409, E-Mail: presse@dso.de
Internet: www.dso.de and www.fuers-leben.de


Here is the email Silke "Schmeissi" Roehl, the founder of the German Alex O'Loughlin Fan Club, received from Christine Gehringer who's with the publicist's office at the German Foundation for Organ Donation (DSO):

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-- Edited by schmeissi on Sunday 11th of October 2009 04:56:01 AM