The San Jose Municipal Hospital in Joinville, north of Santa Catarina, is the benchmark for organ donation in the state. The department, which has a multidisciplinary team, is responsible for organ donation and organ retrieval, performing both multiple removal and implantation of organs such as the liver, kidneys and cornea.

A multidisciplinary team works in the organ procurement and donation process. Photo: NDTV

Four years ago, Wilson Burg received a call that changed his life. He was finally able to get a new liver. “For me it was a satisfaction that I had a new opportunity in my life,” comments Burg. “It is only because of this form that I am alive today,” he says.

Four years ago, Valdir Burg received a new liver. Photo: NDTV

The work begins with dozens of specialists involved in the entire process of donation and procurement of organs intended for patients on the list regulated by SC Transplantes.

“From the moment a potential donor appears here inside the hospital, a whole team is involved in this process. We are talking about teams that have been at the forefront of this process for decades,” comments Liliani Azevedo, transplant coordinator at the San Jose Hospital.

In 2023 alone, the San José Municipal Hospital has already performed 85 transplants and removed 65 organs. There are currently over 1,400 patients on the waiting list in Santa Catarina, and more than half of them are waiting for a kidney transplant.

Roberto Berbel is also one of those people who got a new chance after transplantation. Five years ago he was given a new kidney. “We were in Sao Paulo for three and a half years waiting for a kidney. We decided to come here [Santa Catarina] and we were lucky to receive the organ in 60 days,” says Berbel.

Roberto Berbel came to Santa Catarina looking for a transplant – Photo: NDTV

For Roberto, the kidney transplant was the beginning of a new life. “Today I have a new normal life. I can eat meat, drink wine, play sports, walk,” he celebrates.

Santa Catarina is the leader in the number of organ donors in the country. In addition to Joinville, the state’s reference cities are Blumenau, Florianopolis, and Itajai. The names of people awaiting transplants and donors are not named to preserve their identities. Information about the organ donation and procurement process can be found on the SC Transplantes website.

*According to Sabrina Aguiar of NDTV Record.