Society of Organ Recipients

OLPO is the first NGO in Ukraine to represent dialysis and transplant patients. It was founded in June 1994 by three patients at a kidney dialysis and organ transplant center in Zaporizhia. It came into being when the center was no longer willing to pay for treatments and the government was unable to finance them either. The objective of the society is to "represent this category of patients, facilitate their social rehabilitation, and provide medications for them."

There are about 80 members in the society, handicapped people from all parts of Ukraine. In May 1998, OLPO and the Transplantation Center in Zaporizhia organized an all-Ukrainian conference "Donors and Transplanta-tion in Ukraine and Abroad." Conference participants came from Ukraine, Italy and Russia. Currently the society struggles to fulfill the "constitutional rights of citizens for medical and social help" as budget deficits prevent the authorities from covering medical expenses for patients with transplanted organs.

Last updated:    February 1999

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