Onassis National Transplant Center

A longtime vision becomes a reality

The transplant state in Greece is changing.

In 1992, the Onassis Foundation realized a great vision, creating and providing the Greek society with a modern cardiac surgery center in the standards of the most prominent centers abroad. The Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center changed things in cardiology and cardiac surgery in Greece and set new standards, giving the chance to thousands of patients to be treated in their own country.

Today, 25 years later, the Onassis Foundation is once again here to cover another urgent need of Greek society in the area of health, specifically in the field of transplants.

The Onassis National Transplant Center (ONTRC) is the realization of a longtime dream for the administration of Onassis Foundation: to provide the Greek society with a hospital for the transplant of solid organs, which will also serve as a center for research and innovation in the field of organ transplantation.

The state of the art infrastructure, the cutting edge technology, the specialized personnel and the collaboration with other transplant centers will create a complete framework for all patients

Transplants in Greece

Organ transplantation is becoming the most modern therapeutic practice of the 21st century and is the only one for last-stage heart, lung and liver failure as well as the most effective solution for kidney failure. Greece holds the last place across Europe as far as transplants are concerned, and also appears in the bottom 10 countries of the Western world. In 2016, only 151 transplants took place in Greece, while in European countries with similar population, such as Belgium or Portugal, 1,031 and 846 were performed respectively.

Right now, all paediatric needs are covered by transplant centers of other countries. The same goes for the adults' solid organ transplants, such as the lungs.

The lack of proper infrastructure, the limited specialized medical personnel and the citizens’ lack of trust towards the health system are factors that keep the transplant activity in Greece on very low levels.

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Photo: Giannis Soulis

A project with multiple benefits

The ONTRC is a longtime vision and is expected to change the state of health in our country. For the realization of this vision, the Onassis Foundation works systematically with the State and the National Transplant Organization (NTO), as well as the administration of the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center. In order to create a national center of medical innovation in the field of adult and children organ transplantation, there has been careful planning and numerous studies have been carried out, so that the project fulfills the needs of the National Health System.

The ONTRC is expected to act catalytically in the development of transplant activity in Greece, as it supports the existing units, creating a national network of transplantation. Under the coordination and the supervision of the State through NTO, the ONTC will collaborate with doctors abroad who will share their knowledge with their Greek peers, while along with NTO and the Onassis Foundation, will help understand and spread the meaning and the essence of Organ Donation.

Moreover, the autonomous pediatric transplant clinic will offer specialized high-level services to children, reducing the need for them to go abroad. The state of the art infrastructure, the cutting edge technology, the specialized personnel and the collaboration with other transplant centers will create a complete framework for all patients.

The goals of ONTRC

By financing the construction and the equipment purchase for ONTRC, the Onassis Foundation offers the Greek Sate and society the first national transplant center which aims to cover the needs and the development of the organization transplantation field in Greece. The creation of ONTRC aims to improve the system of the organ tracking and management, the quality and effectiveness of the services offered to children through the creation of the first autonomous transplant unit exclusively for children, as well as to upgrade the health services of the country in the field of organ transplantation overall.

The new ONTRC in numbers

The ONTRC is going to be a state of the art construction project of a total budget of €100,000,000. It will be equipped with cutting edge technology of more than €30,000,000 worth. The 4 floor building of the Onassis National Transplant Center will be 7,000 square meters. It will be equipped with 47 new beds, 33 of which exclusively for children and 12 intensive care beds for children, 5 of which exclusively for infants. The construction is estimated to be concluded in 3 years.