MUW specialists at the starting line
Run for a New Life is the largest sports event in Poland promoting positive attitudes toward organ donation and raising awareness of transplant procedures. The 26th edition took place on May 10th in Wisła.
Participants compete in four-person relay teams that complete the racecourse using Nordic walking poles. Each team includes transplant recipients, living donors, youth from the Silesian Voivodeship, athletes, journalists, actors, and medical professionals. This year, there were 83 teams in total.
Representing MUW were:
- Prof. Rafał Krenke, Rector
- Prof. Michał Grąt, Vice-Rector for International Relations, Promotion, and Development, from the Department and Clinic of General, Transplant, and Liver Surgery
- Professor Roman Danielewicz, Department of Surgical and Transplant Nursing and Extracorporeal Treatment
- Prof. Mariusz Kuśmierczyk, Prof. Małgorzata Sobieszczańska-Małek, and Dr. Zygmunt Kaliciński from the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Transplant Surgery
- Prof. Sławomir Nazarewski, Department and Clinic of General, Vascular, Endocrine, and Transplant Surgery
- Assoc. Prof. Olga Tronina, Department of Transplantation Medicine, Immunology, Nephrology, and Internal Medicine
- Assoc. Prof. Dominik Olejniczak, Department of Public Health
- Assoc. Prof. Dorota Miszewska-Szyszkowska, Outpatient Clinic for Transplant Medicine and Nephrology, Infant Jesus Hospital in Warsaw
- Krzysztof Zając, Transplant Coordinator, Central Teaching Hospital
- Assoc. Prof. Jolanta Gozdowska, Department of Transplant Medicine, Nephrology, and Internal Medicine
- Dr. Edyta Karpeta, Transplant Coordinator, Infant Jesus Hospital
- Anna Lis, Department and Clinic of General and Transplant Surgery
Prof. Michał Grąt and Dr. Zygmunt Kaliciński honored at the Polish Transplantology Gala
As is tradition, the Polish Transplantology Gala: Second Life was held on the eve of the run. Now in its 10th edition, the event honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Polish transplant medicine across five categories: Personality of Polish Transplantology, Active for Transplantation, Media and Transplantation, Active After Transplantation, and Year in Polish Transplantation. The gala also includes a special Run for a New Life award. This year’s awardees included Prof. Michał Grąt and Dr. Zygmunt Kaliciński.
Professor Grąt received the award in the “Personality of Polish Transplantology” category in recognition of his achievements in transforming UCC MUW into one of the world’s leading liver transplant centers. He was also recognized for launching a pioneering program in October of last year at the Department and Clinic of General, Transplant, and Liver Surgery, which he heads, enabling adult patients to receive partial liver grafts from living donors.
Dr. Kaliciński received the award in the “Active for Transplantation” category for his work through the “Leave Your Heart on Earth” Foundation, which he founded, and for organizing a fundraising campaign to acquire the innovative OCS Heart system. Since 2023, the device has been used by specialists in the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, and Transplant Surgery at UCC MUW. The OCS Heart is a portable, warm perfusion and monitoring system designed to maintain a donor heart in a metabolically active state under near-physiological conditions. It extends the preservation time of the organ from 4 to 12 hours, increasing the likelihood of successful transplantation.
