Sunday marked the 13th edition of the spinning challenge, which Luxembourg Transplant organises annually in support of organ donations and transplantations.
According to a statement from Luxembourg Transplant, the Covid-19 pandemic negatively affected the frequency of organ donations in Luxembourg. Only two multi-organ retrievals took place in 2021, compared to seven donations made in 2018, five in 2019, and three in 2020.
Only five organs from Luxembourg could thus be successfully transplanted by the centres of the EUROTRANSPLANT network (European network for organ procurement and transplantation management). 90 patients were registered (a plus of nine compared to 2020) on the pre-transplant list waiting for a transplant in a foreign centre. 26 new patients were added to the list during the year and three patients on the list died in 2021. In 2021, 27 residents received transplants in foreign centres.
Spinning marathon at Luxexpo
Luxembourg Transplant is officially in charge of managing organ donations in the Grand Duchy and the main organiser of the spinning marathon.
For the past two years, the charity event was called off due to the pandemic. 2022 thus marked the return of the spinning marathon at Luxexpo in Kirchberg.
Around 1,000 people separated into five groups joined the charity event to help raise awareness about the critically important role that organ donors have in our society. People started cycling as early as 10am on Sunday and the event finished at 6.30pm.
Among the participants were also some of Luxembourg's most famous athletes, including Porsche Supercup winner Dylan Pereira and European karate champion Jenny Warling.
