Africa-Press – Angola. Angola will begin performing kidney transplants, prioritizing compatible living family donors, in an initial phase, Health Minister Sílvia Lutucuta announced in Luanda on Wednesday.
The minister spoke to the press on the sidelines of the 6th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers, chaired by President João Lourenço. The Council reviewed the draft Presidential Decree establishing the Transplantation Coordination and Supervision Service (SECOSTRA) and approving its organizational statutes.
Sílvia Lutucuta explained that the new service, established under Law No. 20/19 of September 20 regarding the transplantation of human cells, tissues, and organs, is tasked with coordinating, supervising, and monitoring transplantation activities in the country.
SECOSTRA’s responsibilities include managing the national registry of donors and transplant candidates; defining and applying criteria for the allocation of organs, tissues, and cells; and authorizing, monitoring, and periodically evaluating transplant facilities and equipment.
The body is also charged with supervising health ethics committees, monitoring clinical outcomes and performance indicators, and promoting mechanisms to prevent and combat organ trafficking and transplant tourism.
Donors subject to registration
The Ministry stated that donation must be voluntary and uncompensated, assuring that the system will be structured to prevent the commercialization of organs.
It clarified that no donation may proceed unless the donor is on the registry, and citizens may voluntarily sign up for the list.
In the event of death, donation will be subject to the criteria set forth in the legislation and rules regarding family authorization. Sílvia Lutucuta noted that, in the initial phase, kidney transplants would primarily involve compatible family members, such as parents and siblings, subject to rigorous assessment to prevent any economic or psychological pressure on potential donors.
“We do not want any financial considerations involved in this process, nor for people to be persuaded to donate an organ,” she clarified.
The ministry also identifies bone marrow transplantation as one of the planned areas, with the possibility of donation by compatible individuals, subject to clinical and legal conditions.
Reference centers
The official clarified that transplants will not be performed at every health facility in the country, but rather at national reference centers, initially concentrated in Luanda.
Among the facilities with the capacity for specific types of transplants, she mentioned the Pediatric Hematology Institute, equipped for bone marrow transplants, and the future General Burn Hospital, where skin transplants could be performed in highly complex cases.
According to Sílvia Lutucuta, other facilities could be prepared for kidney transplants, utilizing advanced technologies such as robotic surgery.
She explained that transplantation requires complex logistics, including histocompatibility testing, which will initially be centralized in Luanda.
In the medium to long term, she acknowledged the possibility of establishing regional transplantation hubs in other parts of the country as the necessary technical and professional conditions are met.
