To date, the cooperation has involved our transplant teams retrieving organs that were not qualified for procurement in Lithuania. The scale of procurement is impressive, because more than 90 percent of livers not used in Lithuania are retrieved by specialists from the Department and Clinic of General, Transplant, and Liver Surgery at UCK WUM. Specialists from Kaunas and Vilnius, seeing that implanting such organs can be safe and increases the pool of transplants, came to WUM to learn how our center operates and what innovative liver transplant methods are used here.
- Our guests were not aware of how dynamically the center operates in Poland. They emphasized that they had traveled to Korea, Japan, or the United States to gain experience, and they could have gained such experience in Poland - said Prof. Michał Grąt, Vice-Rector for Internationalization, Promotion and Development and Head of the Department and Clinic of General, Transplant, and Liver Surgery at UCK WUM. - The Lithuanian team announced that they wanted to develop international cooperation that would include improving skills and acquiring new competencies. They want to learn the surgical techniques we use and innovative methods such as transplanting liver segments or using ex vivo perfusion, which are applied worldwide and also at our center. We have offered them this support.
Who visited WUM
From the Hospital of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences in Kaunas: Gediminas Prakapavičius, Dr. Kęstutis Urbonas, and Dr. Roberta Buginyte. From Vilnius University Hospital: Dr. Ramunė Bytautienė, Dr. Klaudija Bičkaitė-Baušienė and Hana Petkevič.
The delegation spent several intensive days at the University Clinical Center of WUM and the Department and Clinic of General, Transplant, and Liver Surgery.
The delegation also met with the Rector, Prof. Rafał Krenke. They talked about the progress of Polish transplant medicine and the innovative solutions used by WUM specialists.
The Lithuanian team was very impressed with our center
- We wanted to learn from the experience of our Polish colleagues because in recent years they have increased the pool of organs available for transplantation and have performed many successful liver transplants - said Dr. Kęstutis Urbonas - We are impressed by what they do. Without a doubt, UCK WUM is a leading center in Europe.
The guests from Lithuania were interested in how patient care is organized before and after procedures, how cooperation between transplant surgeons and specialists from other departments is structured, including radiology, intensive care, and physiotherapy. They were also interested in the type of equipment available at our center, the methods of using it, and the way transplant procedures are performed.
- It was an extraordinary experience to see with our own eyes how you prepare for transplantation. We have never done anything like this yet, but I believe that we will improve our practices - emphasized Gediminas Prakapavičius.
