“Organ Donation. Chain of Life”: The first year of the Organmeetings information program reached its apex with a unique event hosted by the Onassis Foundation

On the stage of the National Theatre, which is no stranger to stories and narratives that give birth to intense human emotions, everyday heroes who offered a second chance at life through organ donation and health professionals who tirelessly serve organ donation and transplantation spoke about the chain of life that unites them. Their common denominator was the belief in the paramount value of donation, as well as the importance of trust and proper information towards the families of the donors and recipients, the long hours of waiting, and decision-making in hospitals.

This unique event for public health in our country brought together several protagonists of life: organ donor families, recipients who were granted a second chance at life, doctors, and transplant coordinators who hold together the links of this long chain. On their side were institutional representatives of the Greek State and the Onassis Foundation. Together, they shared stories and emotions, talked about values and best practices, and relayed the message that organ donation—as the ultimate gift of life—concerns us all.

The Main Stage of the National Theatre became a meeting point for personal accounts of people who went beyond the ordinary as a common reference.

The ultimate objective behind the Organmeetings program is for the participants to go back to their families the same evening and open the discussion about organ donation in their homes, casting away the doubts and prejudices in this way. During the last and most emotionally charged part of the event and amid thunderous applause, people who received the second chance to study, work, play sports, hug their child once again, and see it grow up came up to the stage to thank and bow all together to the donor families among the audience, but also to honor the 1,522 donors in total, thanks to whom the second chance at life became a reality. Earlier, representatives of the Greek government and the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center spoke from their own perspectives about the joint effort to strengthen this chain of life in our country.

In the framework of the event, coordinated by journalist Mr. Mihalis Kefalogiannis, an award was given to the eighty-six companies, institutions, and associations—and, through them, to more than 1,200 people—that participated in the three webinars of the Organmeetings program in 2023.

“Transplantation is a vision that encompasses all of us. It requests from each one of us their share of responsibility, the boundless hope we can offer, and the promise for an entire society to finally change,” the President of the Onassis Foundation, Mr. Anthony S. Papadimitriou, mentioned during his address at the event and added: “In this path, we want the engagement of a society that changes without fear. We are becoming a link in the grand chain of information, which we hope will transform into a grand chain of life.”

The President of the Hellenic Parliament, Mr. Constantine Tassoulas, saluted the event and, among other things, noted: “Proper information helps us to de-dramatize the issue of organ donation and realize that it is not only an immeasurable act of altruism but also a self-preservation deed. In the next ten years, we aim to reach the annual number of organ donors in Spain, Portugal, and Italy. We can achieve this through the life-giving initiative of the Onassis Foundation, the effort undertaken by the Hellenic Transplant Organization, the donors, the doctors, the companies, and associations that support this ambition.”

The President of the Hellenic Transplant Organization, Mr. George Papatheodoridis, said: “In the last three years, the donors have increased, while we already track a growing increase in donations in 2024. The citizens' trust in the health system can provide the solid ground for an increase in organ donation in our country. This trust can only be strengthened through optimal organization and by reinforcing the system with twenty-eight new coordinators, the positions of which have already been publicized.”

The President of the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Mr. Ioannis Boletis, stressed: “The Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center has a strong background in transplantation, having realized the very first heart transplant and implemented a lung transplantation program since 2020, under which forty transplants have already been performed. It is of great significance to express our gratitude to the donors and their families for upgrading the quality and outcomes of transplantations in our country. Donation is not simply a selfless act. In the course of our lives, we are more likely to need an organ transplant rather than having to become donors ourselves.”

The Onassis Foundation organizes Organmeetings under the scientific auspices of the Hellenic Transplant Organization and with the support of the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center.