Republika Srpska expands organ transplant services in Belarus

The Health Insurance Fund of Republika Srpska has expanded its medical cooperation with Belarus to include liver transplants, in addition to kidney transplants. The Fund has already financed liver transplants and preoperative preparations for two patients, totaling approximately 500,000 KM.

Since cooperation with Belarusian medical institutions began in 2021, more than 90 kidney transplants have been performed for insured persons from Republika Srpska, costing the Fund 6.1 million KM. The agreement has recently been extended to include a medical facility in Brest.

The expansion of services in Belarus is driven by the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a member of Eurotransplant. While a formal letter of intent for Eurotransplant membership was submitted in January 2024, the country faces significant administrative and political obstacles. Entity-level ministries of health have been cited as primary causes for the delay in joining the international organ exchange network, which would facilitate cadaveric transplants within the European Union.