From Wednesday March 22 to Sunday March 26, 2023, a team of 14 health professionals from the nephrology, endocrinology and clinical genetics departments of Rouen University Hospital will participate in the 36th Heart Race, organized by the Trans-forme association.
Nicknamed the “Golden Greffons”, this team will run for 4 days and 4 nights from Paris to Arcs via Bourg-Saint-Maurice, a course of 750 kilometers. The objective of this race is to raise awareness among the general public about organ and tissue donation, and more particularly about the importance of kidney transplantation.
The members of the team are mobilized around Professor Dominique Guerrot at the request of the Trans-forme association. Throughout their journey, they will inform the public about the importance of organ and tissue donation, and more particularly about the necessity of kidney donation. Indeed, in 2022, only 92 kidney transplants were carried out in Rouen, a third of which were from living donors. This number is considered insufficient, because nearly 300 people are waiting for a kidney. Doctors emphasize that it is important to remember that donation can save a patient's life, and that it is possible to donate during one's lifetime provided that a non-family emotional bond has been established for more than two years.
Charlotte Laurent, nephrologist at Rouen University Hospital and participant in the Heart Race, underlines the importance of raising awareness among the general public about organ donation to help combat the shortage of transplants. She explains that despite awareness campaigns, awareness of organ donation remains essential, because the activity has still not returned to its pre-Covid level. Indeed, in 2019, 5 transplants were carried out in France, compared to 901 in 6. More than 105 people need an organ transplant each year, and more than 2017 people die because they did not receive an organ transplant. graft in time. It is therefore important to talk about this subject when things are going well, in order to combat the taboos surrounding it and help save lives.
