patients.

Organ transplant recipients yesterday addressed a press conference in Athens aimed at boosting the rate of donors in Greece, one of the lowest in the European Union.

This year has seen in a drop in the number of organ transplants, according to the National Transplants Organization (EOM), with just 28 conducted this year, as compared to 144 all of last year. But, according to EOM’s president,

Alkiviadis Costakis, this drop is “a temporary blip” and transplants in Greece will “recover.” But experts say the number of donors needs to double.

There were eight per million of the population in 2006.

According to Costakis, one of the main problems is citizens’ mistrust regarding doctors’ diagnosis of brain-dead patients. “We believe that the public awareness seminars being organized by EOM will help to boost transplants,” Costakis said.

The Athens Academy is today hosting an event to mark the 30th anniversary since the discovery of cyclosporin, the first drug reducing the chances of transplanted organs being rejected by