BRAZIL: Transplants Resume Under Secretaria Estadual de Saúde; Family Consent, Capacity Hinder Growth; New ID Lets Donors Register

Mato Grosso Gradually Restarts cornea And kidney Transplantation Amid Donor Shortage And Family Hesitancy

WORLD NEWS – BRAZIL: Mato Grosso is slowly resuming organ transplantation after a pause in activity, state health and legislative officials say, with cornea and kidney procedures currently the only operations being performed. Dr. João, a member of the Assembleia health commission, described efforts to rebuild teams and to coordinate with the state transplant center as authorities work to expand capacity.

State data show progress but underscore limits: through early May this year Mato Grosso recorded its sixth organ procurement with donation, compared with 14 donations during all of last year. Transplantation remains constrained by resources and infrastructure, and authorities emphasize that current activity is not yet at the scale officials want.

A persistent obstacle is family reluctance to authorize donation. The Secretaria Estadual de Saúde reports that many relatives are uncertain of a deceased person’s wishes, prompting intensified public awareness campaigns each September to encourage conversations about donation. The State Central de Transplante is leading outreach and training to improve consent rates and donor identification.

Officials point to practical steps intended to boost transplant numbers, including registering donor intent on the new national identity document. Citizens can record this choice free of charge on a first ID at Espaço Cidadania on weekdays. Strengthening the state transplant policy, expanding procurement capacity and completing multidisciplinary teams are cited as immediate priorities to reduce the roughly 100-person waiting list and broaden transplantation services.

Video originally published on 2026-05-12 09:40:02