Bulgaria will also finance lung transplants in countries outside the European Union. This intention of the Ministry of Health has so far suppressed the protest of those waiting for a lung transplant in Bulgaria and their relatives.

They protested in front of the health ministry and accused the minister of the department that he had left them with no alternative after the only transplant clinic for Bulgarians stopped receiving foreigners.

The Minister of Health replied that amendments to the Ordinance have already been prepared to resolve the issue.

18 Bulgarians are waiting for a lung transplant. According to patients and their loved ones, the only option  is to become health emigrants.

Todor Mangorov, President of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association: From May 2017, a single lung transplant has been performed. This protest was organized by the Ministry of Health to remind the Minister of Health that the work of caring for patients who need a lung transplant is taking an extremely long time.

The health minister responded to protesters that transplants could soon be funded in countries outside the European Union. This will change with an ordinance that is first subject to public consultation.

Kiril Ananiyev, Minister of Health: There are only a few days left to pass this debate and it will be signed and will enter into force. We talked about the US, Russia, Belarus, Turkey.

Patients and NGOs supported the idea and stopped the protest. According to them, however, the procedure will take a long time.

This year, Bulgarian doctors are trained to perform life-saving surgeries at a clinic in Vienna. The first lung transplantation in Bulgaria is expected to be completed in 2021.

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