Reference in organ donation and transplants, HRBA guides students on organ donation
Professionals from the unit brought the topic to the Diocesan School of São Francisco, concluding the schedule of actions for the September Green campaign
Student Lívia Araújo, 16 years old, is in her first year of high school at the Diocesan State School of São Francisco in Santarém, western Pará. This Monday (29), she took some time from her classes to learn more about an important topic: organ donation, and she approved everything she learned about the subject.
"I only heard the basics about it, about helping people who need organs. But I didn't know anything deeply. The lecture was important, I was able to clear all my doubts. It's something that needs to be talked about because it can save lives. I know it's not the same, but I have donated hair to people who needed it to help with self-esteem and mental health during treatment. So, organ donation is something that definitely needs to be more publicized," said Lívia.
Students from the educational institution participated in an action promoted by the Dr. Waldemar Penna Regional Hospital of Lower Amazonas (HRBA), as a conclusion to the unit's programming related to the national September Green campaign, which encourages organ donation.
Professionals from the Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) Tapajós and the hospital's transplant sector lectured on the subject in the school's auditorium, explaining how the donation procedure is done, who can donate, how a donation can help people's lives, among other topics, in addition to clarifying the young people's doubts.
"We brought some information, knowing what they already knew about the subject, and it was very good. We tried to bring together the teams from procurement and transplants to talk to the young people, and it was very positive; they got very involved, and we were able to clear up many doubts. Our goal is to publicize this act of donation more and explain the benefits that this donation brings to society as a whole," highlighted the nurse from OPO Tapajós, Valciclei Lima.
September Green - HRBA has the Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) Tapajós. Today, one doctor and two nurses are part of the OPO, which works in the active search for potential donors, supporting the diagnosis of brain death and in welcoming and obtaining consent from the family for donation.
The Organization promoted actions throughout the month related to the September Green campaign, with educational lectures inside the hospital for employees, patients, and companions. In addition, the hospital's facade was adorned with a ribbon and illuminated in green during the nights.
To be an organ donor after death, a rigorous medical protocol must be followed to determine if the patient has experienced brain death, which consists of the irreversible cessation of brain function. In Brazil, organ removal can only be performed after family authorization. Thus, even if a person has expressed a desire to be a donor during their lifetime, the donation only occurs if the family consents.
Reference - The Santarém Regional Hospital is a reference in organ procurement and kidney transplants throughout western Pará. Since 2012, the unit has been authorized by the Ministry of Health to procure organs. Since then, 197 organs have been procured at the unit, including 103 kidneys, 77 corneas, 13 livers, and four hearts, totaling 55 procedures. The most recent procurement occurred on the 24th of this month and was the first of this year, with two kidneys and one liver procured.
Kidney transplants have been performed at the hospital since 2016. So far, there have been 130 procedures, including 54 living donor transplants - when the donor is usually a relative of the transplant recipient - and 76 from deceased donors. Just in 2025, the unit has already performed 15 transplants, providing a better quality of life to patients who were able to leave behind dialysis sessions.
One of them is Mr. Nilton Cavalcante Furtado, 67 years old, who after five years of treatment on dialysis received a kidney donation on August 10 of this year. Emotionally, he emphasized how important this was for his life and his entire family.
"It means everything in my life. I am just grateful. Being able to get out of that machine, which we have to use every other day, is a sacrifice. But for God, nothing is impossible, and everything is in His time. Thank God everything is going well. This kidney came from Belém and arrived on the right day, at the right time. Thank God," he celebrated.
For those who learned a little more about the work developed by the hospital, there is certainty that the importance of organ donation for the lives of many people and families needs to be increasingly discussed in society.
"Clarification, information. All of this is essential. Even for us adults, it is still a little-discussed topic; we don't know much about it. It is very important that this is passed on to young people and that they reproduce this information. The Regional Hospital is a reference that provides a great service to our region. And an action like this brings HRBA closer to society," said the director of the Diocesan School of São Francisco, Enia Hoyos.
"Bringing this subject, this agenda, to students in the education network in general is a watershed moment. We work on the importance of organ donation both in Brazil and in our regional reality. This shows HRBA in motion and attentive to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, being at the forefront of many health services in western Pará," concluded the unit's general director, Matheus Coutinho.
Service:
HRBA is a reference in medium and high complexity for a population of 1.4 million people residing in 29 municipalities, and provides 100% referenced services, meeting the demand originating from the State Regulation Center.
The unit belongs to the Government of Pará, being managed by the Social Institute Mais Saúde, in partnership with the State Department of Public Health (Sespa), and is located at Avenida Sérgio Henn, No. 1100, in the Diamantino neighborhood, in Santarém.
