Romanian patients waiting for a lung transplant will be able to undergo the procedure in Italy following an agreement concluded between Romania’s Ministry of Health and the Italian authorities, health minister Vlad Voiculescu announced. Based on this agreement, ten specialized clinics in Italy will receive five Romanian patients per year.

The news comes as lung transplant surgeries can no longer be performed in Romania.

“Romanian patients who need a lung transplant can no longer undergo the procedure in the country. In Romania, the transplant center of the Sfanta Maria Clinical Hospital in Bucharest was the only unit in the country accredited to perform lung transplants […]. It lost the accreditation, its accreditation expired on March 9, and the hospital did not ask for its extension,” Voiculescu said, according to Agerpres.

Thus, Romania concluded an agreement with Italy for lung transplant patients. Moreover, the Romanian authorities have “advanced discussions with a transplant center in France,” the health minister also said.

In addition, according to minister Voiculescu, the authorities are also working on setting up a lung transplant center in Romania as well.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Sabin Cirstoveanu)