site.btaFirst Kidney Transplants Performed at Sofia's Military Medical Academy

For the first time, kidney transplants have been performed at Sofia's Military Medical Academy (MMA), the hospital announced here Friday.

The surgeries took place on November 13 and were carried out by the team from the Department of Urology and Nephrology — Prof. Dr. Iliya Saltirov, Assoc. Prof. Kremena Petkova, Dr. Ognyan Gatsev, Dr. Konstantin Hristov, Dr. Viktoria Todorova, and Assoc. Prof. Svetozar Marangozov from the Vascular Surgery Clinic. Postoperative care for the patients — a 21-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman — has been entrusted to Prof. Rayna Robeva, Assoc. Prof. Daniela Petrova, and their team from the Nephrology Clinic, the MMA added.

“This is a moment of pride not only for MMA but for Bulgarian medicine as a whole. We have achieved a result that is the product of years of focused work, training, and discipline,” said MMA Chief Major General Prof. Ventsislav Mutafchiyski.

MMA is also the only hospital in Bulgaria performing two types of organ transplants — liver and kidney, the hospital noted.

The MMA expressed gratitude to the donor’s family, who, in one of the most difficult moments of their lives, found the strength and generosity to give life, as well as to the immunologists from Aleksandrovska University Hospital, the Medical Supervision Agency, and the on-call team at Uni Hospital Panagyurishte for their flawless organization during the organ explantation.

The donor situation was realized at Uni Hospital Panagyurishte after the family of a 45-year-old man made the noble decision to donate his organs, the Executive Agency Medical Supervision reported. As a result, a 38-year-old man received a new chance at life when an MMA team led by Prof. Dr. Vasil Mihaylov, together with Prof. Dr. Ivelin Takorov, successfully performed a liver transplant.

For the first time in MMA’s history, a medical team led by Prof. Dr. Iliya Saltirov transplanted kidneys into a 42-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man, the Medical Supervision Agency added.

The Ministry of Health and the Executive Agency Medical Supervision expressed their sincere condolences to the donor’s family and deep gratitude for their noble decision, made in a difficult moment, to save human lives.