(Vienna, 23 April 2024) Andreas Zuckermann, cardiac surgeon at MedUni Vienna, has been elected to the Council of Science and Medicine at Eurotransplant, the international organization for the coordination and procurement of donor organs, where he has been elected Chair of the Thoracic advisory committee. He was also elected Chairman of the Eurotransplant General Assembly.
The Council of Science and Medicine (the medical board) is responsible for all medical decisions of Eurotransplant, which are subsequently ratified in the member countries. The Chair of the General Assembly presides over all member country elections and the Annual General Meeting.
Approval for blood group incompatible transplants in infants
The Department of Cardiac Surgery at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna has received official approval from Eurotransplant to transplant infants and young children up to the age of two years with incompatible blood groups. This is only reserved for particularly specialized centers. Over the past five years, MedUni Vienna has played a leading role in setting up the interdisciplinary program with various experts.
About Eurotransplant
Eurotransplant is an international organization that coordinates and arranges donor organs for transplant patients in several European countries. The organization was founded in 1967 and is based in Leiden, the Netherlands. Eurotransplant works closely with transplant centers, donor hospitals and national transplant organizations in the participating countries to ensure a fair and efficient distribution of organs. This includes countries such as Germany, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Hungary. Eurotransplant uses algorithms and criteria to ensure the best possible allocation of donor organs to the most urgently needed recipients, based on factors such as urgency, tissue match and geographical proximity. The organization plays an important role in saving lives through organ transplantation and contributes to the further development and harmonization of the transplantation system in Europe.
About the person
Andreas Zuckermann completed his medical studies and training as a specialist in surgery and cardiac surgery at the University of Vienna (now MedUni Vienna). In 2003, after his habilitation on "New immunosuppressive concepts after local transplantation", he became an associate professor of surgery. He has been Head of the Heart Transplant Program at MedUni Vienna since 2006. Zuckermann has been Second Deputy Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna since April 2024. He is Past President and member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation.