October 10, is the European Day for Organ Donation and Transplantation. Created in 1996 by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), Council of Europe. It’s aim is to raise public awareness of the need for organ, tissue and cell donation, promote voluntary and unpaid donation, and honour donors and healthcare […]
Lukáš Jakovec set off from Udine, Italy, on 11 October 2025 — a trip he had been planning for over seven years. Two hundred and thirty days and 22,000 km later, with a total elevation gain of roughly 144,000 metres, he rolled into Prague, his home town. Along the way he looped through Italy, including
A 51-year-old lung transplant recipient — transplanted in 2002 for cystic fibrosis — successfully reached the summit of Mount Aconcagua in Argentina (6,961 m) in January 2026, without supplemental oxygen. This is the highest altitude ever recorded for a lung transplant recipient. The achievement was part of an international medical expedition organised by the Vienna
Czech cyclist Lukáš Jakovec is now on day 177 of his extraordinary solo bike journey around Europe, having covered an impressive 15,290 kilometres along the coastline — by the longest route possible. Lukáš is no ordinary cyclist. A multi-talented Czech professional — chef, tennis coach, tournament referee and professional bowler — he embarked on the
On October 11, 2025, the Alliance for Pulmonary Hypertension launched the inspiring “Wheels of Hope” campaign, following Czech cyclist and chef Lukáš Jakovec as he embarked on an extraordinary journey across Europe to raise awareness about organ donation and transplantation—all while cycling through some of Europe’s most challenging terrain. Key Numbers Route Highlights Starting from
On October 11, the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), Council of Europe European Donation Day, the Alliance for Pulmonary Hypertension launched a campaign to to honour donors and their families, to celebrate life after transplant, and to call for greater awareness of the urgent need for organ donation. The six
Introduction: A Mission on Two Wheels On October 11, 2025—European Donation Day, organised yearly by the the Council of Europe—the Alliance for Pulmonary Hypertension launched “Wheels of Hope,” an extraordinary campaign that combines athletic endurance, culinary culture, and life-saving advocacy. Czech chef and athlete Lukáš Jakovec embarked on a 9-month cycling journey from Udine, Italy,
Maggy Surace is the President of the French Pulmonary Hypertension Association HTaPFrance and a double lung transplant recipient. She was among the 1,513 athletes from 50 different countries participating in the World Transplant Games in Dresden, Germany on August 17-24, 2025. Maggy trained for over 4 months for the swimming and athletics events. She left
The World Transplant Games are a remarkable international multisport event that brings together transplant recipients, living donors, donor families, supporters and friends to celebrate the Gift of Life and show the positive impact of organ donation. The games span seven days, featuring a program of both high-exertion and low-impact sports, with 2,500 participants, families, and
The World Transplant Games 2025, August 17-24 2025, Dresden, Germany Read Post »
The “Orgamites Mighty Education Programme” is a free global organ donation and health education programme for children aged 5-11. It uses educational resources, tools, toys, and tech to inspire and equip more students, teachers, and families everywhere to talk more about organ donation and how to take better care of our health. The Orgamites programme
In the past few months, the European Society for Organ Transplant (ESOT) channels have been running a campaign called “Take 2 – the new Me after a transplant”. The campaign seeks to empower patients by offering them valuable and reliable information and resources that can enhance their pre and post-transplant journey and raise public attention
The steering group of the European Society for Organ Transplant (ESOT) patients’ inclusion initiative invites European transplant patient organizations to endorse and spread the call: Monitoring health after transplantation: A call for a European effort to collect follow up data on transplant recipients and living donors. This call urges organizations dealing with transplantation to work
Sponsored by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), Council of Europe in a different country every year since 1996, the European Day for Organ Donation and Transplantation (EDD) aims to raise public awareness of the need for organ, tissue and cell donation and promote the principle of voluntary and non-remunerated donation.
The awareness campaign by ESOT – European Society for Organ Transplantation is very relevant to our community as, despite the huge progresses made in the past 30 years in the field of pulmonary hypertension (new treatments, better treatment management, new/improved surgical techniques, etc), lung transplantation still remains an important treatment option for patients who do
A 2023 survey by the French Agence de la Biomédecine (Agency for Biomedicine) has found that 79% of 16-24 year-olds felt uninformed about organ donation. To address this, a new digital campaign has been launched, targeting young people in a lighthearted and engaging manner to provide information about organ donation without the heaviness typically associated
“Eroi anonimi” (“Anonymous heroes”) is an Italian online platform aimed at the promotion of organ donation among the general population. The slogan of this awareness initiative is “You can be a hero even without superpowers”. The platform features information about the importance of organ donation, on the different procedures that are used in Italy to
Starting on April 15, 2023, 46 member countries came together to compete in 17 sporting disciplines at the 24th World Transplant Games. This is the first reunion of the community of transplant recipients, living donors, donor families, friends and supporters after four years. For over 40 years, the World Transplant Games have demonstrated that health and fitness
Demand for organ transplantation is increasing all over the world, but there are not enough organs available to meet the need. This shortage of organs is now the limiting factor in treating many patients with chronic organ failure and has led to high numbers of patients on waiting lists. Sponsored by the European Directorate for
European Day for Organ Donation and Transplantation, October 10, 2023 Read Post »
