Saint George the Great Martyr was named the patron of liver transplantation in Romania during an event held at the Library of the Romanian Academy on April 11. The saint was chosen because the first two liver transplant recipients in Romania were both named Gheorghe (George).
The patriarchal decree was read during the National Transplant Day ceremony by Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești, chief secretary of the Holy Synod.
The document also stated that chapels in medical units where liver transplants are performed might adopt Saint George as their patron saint and that specialized medical staff, patients, and supporters may honour him in a special way.
Honouring the Sacrificial Work
In his address following the reading of the decree, Bishop Varlaam highlighted the importance of transplantation and the Church’s care for those who suffer.
“We are here to present the homage and respect of the Church’s servants for the servants of health among our fellow people,” said the bishop, referencing a biblical foundation from Sirach 38, which calls for honouring physicians as instruments of God’s healing work.
Bishop Varlaam praised the “sacrificial work” carried out by transplant teams, noting the alignment of medical service with Christian compassion. He emphasized that 2024 has been declared the “Solemn Year of Pastoral Care and Assistance to the Sick” and the “Commemorative Year of All Holy Unmercenary Healers” within the Romanian Patriarchate.
Church’s Position on Organ Transplantation
Bishop Varlaam also reiterated the Romanian Orthodox Church’s position on organ donation and transplantation. Since the year 2000, the Holy Synod has supported organ transplantation and encouraged donation from brain-dead individuals to save other human lives, emphasizing that such a gesture is profoundly Christian.
He noted that the Church actively participates in the field of bioethics, with representatives in various international, inter-Christian, and inter-Orthodox committees and a dedicated Synodal Bioethics Commission addressing emerging challenges.
The Initiative’s Origin
During the event, Academician Dr. Irinel Popescu, initiator of the proposal to name Saint George as the patron of liver transplantation in Romania and a surgeon at Fundeni Clinical Hospital, also spoke.
“Dear members of the Liver Transplant Community, the most important message of this edition of Transplant Day is that in liver transplantation, we now have survivors who have lived for more than 20 years — it is the first time we can speak of long-term survival in transplantation, with an excellent quality of life. Today, there are over 1,300 liver transplant recipients in Romania.”
“At Fundeni Clinical Institute, a true school has been formed, and for many years now, we have seen a generational shift. I believe that the primary duty of someone who creates a school is to train a better generation because medicine is constantly progressing. Every generation must achieve more than the one before it, standing on its shoulders.”
At the end of his speech, Academician Irinel Popescu also highlighted the efforts of all those involved in the transplantation process, whose identities often remain behind the scenes.
“Many specialists have contributed to liver transplantation: gastroenterologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, imaging specialists, interventional radiologists, infectious disease specialists, immunologists, transfusion specialists, microbiologists, as well as operating room nurses, ICU staff, ward nurses, and those involved in patient follow-up care. All deserve our equal congratulations and gratitude. Perhaps in no other type of surgery are there so many anonymous individuals without whom success would not have been possible. I wish to offer a collective tribute to them because we cannot name them all individually, but we owe them an immense debt.”
A monument dedicated to organ donors and transplant recipients was unveiled in Bucharest’s IOR Park on National Transplant Day.
Photo: Basilica.ro / Raluca Ene
