GARCIA, Valter Duro

PÊGO-FERNANDES, Paulo Manuel

Biblioteca Digital da Produção Intelectual da Universidade de São Paulo (BDPI/USP)

Sao Paulo Med J. 2010; 128(1):3-4 3
Ed
ito
ria
lCurrent status of transplantation in Brazil
Estado atual do transplante no Brasil
Paulo Manuel Pêgo-FernandesI, Valter Duro GarciaII
Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP), São Paulo, Brazil
IAssociate professor, Department of Cardiopneumonology, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP), São Paulo, Brazil. 
IIDirector, Department of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.  
In 1964, kidney transplantation began in Brazil and, in 1968, heart, liver, intestine and pancreas transplantations 
were performed. Like elsewhere in the world, the disappointing results led to suspension of the transplant programs 
in the early 1970s, for all organs except kidneys.1 The discovery of cyclosporine in the 1970s, and its clinical appli-
cation as immunosuppressive medication in early 1980, provided better results from kidney transplantation. Sub-
sequently, the programs for heart (1984), liver (1985) and pancreas transplantation (1987) were reactivated and an 
early lung transplantation program was instituted in Brazil (1989).1
Regarding regulation, transplantation can be divided into three phases. The first, in which demand and alloca-
tion of organs was the responsibility of the transplantation centers, with no control from the Ministry of Health or 
other government bodies, extended from 1964 to 1987.1
The second phase started in 1987, with the publication by the Ministry of Health of the Integrated Plan for 
Chronic Renal Patient treatment (SIRC-TRANS), which was designed to set standards for the accreditation and 
functioning of kidney transplantation centers, and to determine the amounts for payment by the public health sys-
tem.2 In the same year, in some states, government agencies and foundations took over responsibility for procurement 
and/or allocation of organs. The first organizations were the Immunogenetics and Organ Transplantation Program 
(PITO) in Rio de Janeiro,3 the São Paulo Interior Transplantation (SPIT) system4 and the Rio Grande do Sul Trans-
plant Coordination service (RS-Tx).5 The Constitution of 1988 prohibited the sale of organs, and this was regulated 
by the transplantation law of 1992.6 In the same year, the Ministry of Health created the Integrated System for High 
Complexity Procedures (SIPAC), for kidney, liver, heart, lung and bone marrow transplantation. This established 
quality control mechanisms for transplant centers, accreditation for regulated transplantation services and set the 
amounts to be paid for these procedures. 
The third phase began in 1998 with new legislation on transplantation and the creation of the National Trans-
plant System (SNT) and the Centers for Notification, Procurement and Distribution of Organs (CNCDOs) in the 
states and Federal District. Controlling and funding all the processes of donation and transplantation became the re-
sponsibility of the federal government.1 Overall coordination of the SNT was assisted by Technical Advisory Groups 
(GTAs) and Technical Councils, with regard to specific organs and tissues, and the SNT was made responsible for 
transplant policy in this country. The CNCDOs controlled the logistics of donation and allocation in the states.1 In 
1999, the National Center for Notification, Procurement and Distribution of Organs (CNNCDO) was created. It 
was established at the airport of Brasilia and was made responsible for the distribution of organs among all the states.1 
In 2000, based on the Spanish model and at the request of the Brazilian Association of Organ Transplantation, the 
Transplantation Hospital Coordinator was created. This subsequently became known as the Intra-Hospital Commit-
tee for the Donation of Organs and Tissues for Transplantation (CIHDOTT), which was used in most states. São 
Paulo continued with the American model of using Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs).1 Between 2000 and 
2004, dozens of training courses were conducted for hospital transplantation coordinators in 18 states.7
With this organizational system, the donor rate in this country remained stable at around three per million 
population (pmp) between 1993 and 1998 and increased to 7.4 pmp between 1999 and 2004. However. from 
2005 onwards, there was a progressive decrease in the donor rate, reaching 5.4 pmp in June 2007. This was caused 
Sao Paulo Med J. 2010; 128(1):3-4
Pêgo-Fernandes PM, Garcia VD
4
by a number of factors, such as changes in the SNT that interrupted 
the courses. This led to a series of changes and improvements in trans-
plantation policy that reversed this situation. Two years later (Septem-
ber 2009), the donor rate was 8.6 pmp, an increase of 54% over this 
period, thereby reaching the goal proposed for this year. However, the 
efforts in this area need to be redoubled in order to achieve the pro-
posed donor rate targets of 10 pmp in 2010, 14 pmp in 2013 and 20 
pmp in 2017.
The forecast for 2009, from the data obtained up to September, is 
that 4,130 kidney transplants (21.8 pmp) will be performed in Brazil, 
i.e. 31% of the 13,300 cases that enter the waiting list each year (70 
pmp); 1,301 liver transplantations (6.9 pmp): 31% of the 4,160 need-
ed (25 pmp); 193 heart transplantations (1.0 pmp): 18% of the 1,104 
needed (6 pmp); 169 pancreas transplantations (0.9 pmp): 30% of the 
570 needed (3 pmp); and 63 lung transplantations (0.3 pmp): about 
4% of the 1,472 needed (8 pmp). The use of organs in Brazil is highly 
variable: exceeding 70% for kidneys and livers, around 15% for hearts 
and only 5% for lungs.8-10
Regarding the transplantation of corneas, which can also come from 
donors up to six hours after death, 13,052 transplants (71 pmp) are ex-
pected to be performed, i.e. 79% of the 16,560 needed (90 pmp). Some 
states, like São Paulo and Paraíba, have already been able to bring down 
the waiting list for corneas to zero.8,9 
For organ transplantation to increase in Brazil, it is essential to im-
prove the four pillars that support the donation process for transplanta-
tion: legislation, financing, organization and education. The legal mea-
sures include the implementation of a registration system for voluntary 
donors, and the prevention of any form of trade through greater con-
trol over transplants from unrelated living donors and prohibition of 
transplantation involving deceased donors who were non-resident aliens 
in the country. With regard to financial measures, adjustments to the 
funding available for organ procurement and transplantation need to 
be made, in order to include new medications like belatacept, ritux-
imab and bortezomib as medicines supplied by the public system for 
transplantation patients, and to include payment by the public health-
care system for new diagnostic procedures such as C4d in biopsies, an-
tigenemia or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for diagnosing cy-
tomegalovirus and quantitative measurement of viral load in cases of 
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and BK virus (BKV). Among the organiza-
tional measures deemed vital are training and motivation for intensive 
care physicians and neurologists, for diagnosing brain death and main-
taining potential donors. Hospitals also need to be equipped through 
purchasing equipment to document brain death, training the hospital 
transplantation coordinators and having teams for organ procurement 
and transplantation available 24 hours a day in all states. Finally, educa-
tional policies are still needed, both for professionals and students in the 
healthcare field and for the population.
REFERENCES
1. Garcia VD, Pestana JOM, Ianhez LE. História dos transplantes no Brasil. In: Garcia VD, Ab-
bud-Filho M, Neumann J, Pestana JOM, editors. Transplante de órgãos e tecidos. 2a ed. São 
Paulo: Segmento Pharma; 2006. p. 27-42.
2. Garcia VD, Abbud-Filho M, Keitel E, Neumann J. Situação atual do processo doação – trans-
plante. In: Garcia VD, editor. Por uma política de transplantes no Brasil. São Paulo: Office 
Editora e Publicidade Ltda; 2000. p. 19-35. 
3. Vasconcelos MSF, Menezes PA, Menezes JAV, et al. O transplante renal no Hospital dos 
Servidores do Estado – Rio de Janeiro. Revisão de 380 transplantes. JBT Jornal Brasileiro 
de Transplantes. 1998;1:71-83. 
4. Ferraz AS, Santos CM, Wen LY, Voltarelli JC. The experience of the “São Paulo Interior Trans-
plant” with a multifactorial system for selection of cadaver kidney recipients. Transplant 
Proc. 1991;23(5):2676-7. 
5. Garcia VD, Hoelfmann N, Bittar AE, Goldani JC. Transplant coordinators in Rio Grande do Sul, 
Brazil: initial analysis. Transplant Proc. 1991;23(5):2519-20.
6. Brasil. Lei no 8.489, de 18 de novembro de 1992. Dispõe sobre a retirada e transplante 
de tecidos, órgãos e partes do corpo humano, com fins terapêuticos e científicos e dá ou-
tras providências. Available from: http://www.prosangue.sp.gov.br/pdf/Lei%20n.8489%20
de%2018.11.92%20conf.pdf. Accessed in 2009 (Dec 14).
7. Garcia VD, Miranda T, Luca L, Nothen R, Teixeira Pinto JB. Training hospital transplantation 
coordinators in Brazil. Transplant Proc. 2007;39(2):336-8.
8. Garcia VD. Editorial. RBT Registro Brasileiro de Transplantes. 2009;15(3):3. Available from: http://
www.abto.org.br/abtov02/portugues/populacao/rbt/anoXV_n3/index.aspx?idCategoria=2. Ac-
cessed in 2009 (Dec 18).
9. Associação Brasileira de Transplantes de Órgãos. Dados gerais. RBT Registro Brasileiro de 
Transplantes. 2009;15(3):5-20. Available from: http://www.abto.org.br/abtov02/portu-
gues/populacao/rbt/anoXV_n3/index.aspx?idCategoria=2. Accessed in 2009 (Dec 18).
10. Fernandes PM, Samano MN, Junqueira JJ, Waisberg DR, Noleto GS, Jatene FB. Perfil do 
doador de pulmão disponibilizado no estado de São Paulo, Brazil, em 2006 [Lung donor 
profile in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2006]. J Bras Pneumol. 2008;34(7):497-505.
Sources of funding: Not declared
Conflict of interest: None
Date of first submission: November 18, 2009
Last received: December 14, 2009
Accepted: December 18, 2009
Address for correspondence:
Paulo Manuel Pêgo-Fernandes
Av. Dr. Enéas de Carvalho Aguiar, 44
Instituto do Coração (InCor)
Secretaria do Serviço de Cirurgia Torácica, 2o andar — Bl. 2 — Sl. 9
São Paulo (SP) — Brasil 
CEP 05403-000 
Tel. (+55 11) 3069-5248
E-mail: paulo.fernandes@incor.usp.br
E-mail: vdurogarcia@terra.com.br


Estado atual do transplante no Brasil

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