In 2017, in Geneva, 91 patients received 97 organs. The majority were livers (50 including 9 children), kidneys (36) and pancreatic islets (9). While transplantation saves lives, it is not without its risks. The main quality indicators in this field are patient survival and graft survival. This data is recorded in the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study, which collects and retains lifelong follow-up data on all transplant patients in Switzerland.
At the HUG, in 2016, patient survival at one year was between 97% (kidney) and 100% (liver, pancreas, islets). The one-year graft survival rate oscillated between 97% (kidney) and 100% (liver, pancreas, islets).
Like all Swiss institutions, the HUG faces a shortage of organs. Due to lack of timely donations, 15 patients died in 2017 and 11 in 2016. To overcome this shortage, Geneva University Hospitals are carrying out important awareness-raising efforts. They also perform transplants from living donors: 3 liver transplants and 14 kidney transplants in 2017. At the end of 2015, they launched a program of non-heart-beating donation. The first liver transplant taken in Geneva from a non-heart-beating donor was transplanted successfully in early 2018.
In order to meet the growing number of patients monitored after transplantation (from 10% to 12% annually), a specialized nursing consultation was launched in 2017.