Katayoun Najafizadeh, the director of the Iranian Organ Donation Association, has received the Unsung Hero Award of Women in Transplantation Awards at the 30th International Congress of The Transplantation Society (TTS 2024) which took place in Istanbul from September 22 to 25.

The award is presented to a woman who has had an extraordinary impact on Transplantation through community services volunteering, mentorship, or other community based activities.

The International society for Organ Donation and Procurement (ISODP) is responsible for developing clinical guidelines and practices, promoting educational programs, and ethical standards for clinical care and scientific research, IRNA reported.

Each year, a different country will host the congress to share latest achievements and expertise in donation and transplantation.

In Iran, some 25,000 people are on transplant waiting list and each ten minute a new person is added to the list.

Rise in organ donation

The number of organ donors in Iran increased from 7.8 per million population (PMP) in the year 1399 (March 2020-March 2021) to 12.2 in the year 1401 (March 2022-March 2023).

“In 1399, the number of organ donations in the country was 645, which reached 928 in 1400 and increased to 1,016 in 1401,” Amir-Hesam Alirezaei, the head of the Health Ministry’s Center for Transplantation and Disease Management, said.

“Currently, 30 kidney transplant centers, 11 liver transplant centers, 3 lung transplant centers, 4 pancreas transplant centers, 18 bone marrow transplant centers, 22 procurement centers, and 35 transplant identification centers are active in the country,” he explained.

With 40,095 cases, kidney transplant has had the highest number of transplants in the country, he noted.

Between 5,000 and 8,000 brain deaths occur annually in the country, he said, adding that 2,500 to 4,000 cases of brain deaths are eligible for organ transplantation, and there are 18,000 patients in need of receiving organs in the country, and more than 1,410 cases of organ donation were done last year, he concluded.

According to the Iranian Society of Organ Donation, there are two types of death in the medical world; Heart death (common death), which accounts for 99 percent of deaths worldwide, and brain death, which accounts for one percent of deaths.

There are over 25,000 patients in need of transplants on the waiting lists for various organs, but unfortunately, 7 to 10 of them die every day due to the lack of a transplanted organ, accounting for over 3,000 a year.

Organ donation is an altruistic decision that can be made by family members after brain death. Although many organizations and medical centers have implemented various interventions and training courses to increase satisfaction with organ donation, a lack of organs for donation is still a serious problem in the world.

Iran tops Asian countries in organ donation

Mehdi Shadnoush, former head of the Health Ministry’s Center for Transplantation and Disease Management, announced in June 2020 that Iran is ranked first for organ donation among Asian countries.

“The country’s organ donation rate is 14.34 per one million people,” he noted.

In February 2019, Shadnoush said that the organ donation rate has increased by 60 times over the past 18 years, while Iran ranked 26 in organ donation in the world. /T.T/

The head of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) said that remote-sensing “Kowsar” satellite will be launched into space in the very near future.

The launch of Saman-2 orbital transfer block, launch of Tolou-3 and Zafar-2 satellites in the form of a space system and IoT (Internet of Things) satellite system are among the most important programs of the country’s space industry, Hassan Salarieh said, adding that “Kowsar” remote-sensing satellite will soon be launched into the space.

Speaking in the inaugural ceremony of the “World Space Week”, the deputy minister of Communications and Information Technology (ICT) expounded on the country’s space program regarding “Kowsar” remote-sensing satellite and stated that all the capacity of this satellite’s images has been purchased by the government, so that the private sector has enough motivation to carry out this activity.

Iran to launch “Kowsar” remote-sensing satellite soon

He went on to say that Chamran-1 satellite was successfully launched into the space in previous and was placed into the orbit and is now performing its missions, noting that three remote-sensing satellites namely “Kowsar”, “Tolou-3” and “Zafar-2” satellites will also be launched into the space in future.

Every year, the Association of World Space Week chooses a theme for the World Space Week. This association has named after “Space and Climate Changes” as the slogan of the World Space Week which is held from October 4-10, 2024.

MNA/

In the first half of the current Iranian year that started on March 20, the country has exported medicines worth $104.6 million, an increase of 19.7 percent year on year.

The exports amounted to 49,400 tons in volume, showing 15 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Customs Administration.

Some 345 companies have been involved in producing medicines, supplements, and raw materials, as well as importing pharmaceuticals in the six-month period of time.

Pharmaceutical companies have imported a total of 54,800 tons of commodities worth 1.1 billion dollars, indicating a 3.76 percent decrease in amount and 4.5 percent increase in terms of value compared to the same period last year, IRNA reported.

FDA plans to increase medicine exports by 30%

In June, Seyyed Ali Maboudi, an official with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said the FDA is developing a plan to increase pharmaceutical exports by 30 percent in the mid-term.

“In the past years, medicine exports in Iran accounted for a small share of non-oil exports. However, over the past year, it experienced a growing trend,” IRNA quoted Maboudi as saying.

The official went on to point out that the exports of raw materials and pharmaceutical products over the past Iranian calendar year (March 2023-March 2024) were valued at more than 100 million dollars.
“The Food and Drug Administration is planning to double the medicine exports in the short term and tenfold in the long term,” the official added.

Given the impacts of drugs on the health of society in all countries, they are one of the most complicated types of goods to export as they require registration and quality approvals in each destination country, Maboudi stressed.

Knowledge-based companies manufacturing medications

Some 600 medical equipment companies are active in the country, producing around 99 percent of the medicine supplied to the domestic market. Medical equipment manufacturers in the country produce and supply over 10,000 types of medical equipment to domestic and foreign markets. Now, various pieces of laboratory equipment are manufactured at prices much lower than the same foreign products.

Iranian knowledge-based companies have succeeded in producing recombinant drugs which are mainly used for treating hard-to-treat diseases such as cancers, MS, hemophilia, and viral diseases.

Medical equipment worth around $20 million is exported to more than 60 countries annually, according to Iran’s Union of Medical Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters.

More than 70 percent of medical equipment and 100 percent of normal hospital beds are domestically made.

Also, over 95 percent of specific ICU and CCU beds and more than 85 percent of operating room medical equipment such as anesthesia machines and other equipment are manufactured with cutting-edge technology in the country.

Over 60 countries import Iranian medical equipment

On January 13, the head of Iran’s Union of Medical Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters said that medical equipment worth around $20 million is exported to more than 60 countries annually.

More than 70 percent of medical equipment and 100 percent of normal hospital beds are domestically made, IRNA quoted Abdolreza Yaqoubzadeh as saying.

Also, over 95 percent of specific ICU and CCU beds and more than 85 percent of operating room medical equipment such as anesthesia machines and other equipment are manufactured with cutting-edge technology in the country, he added.

Yaqoubzadeh went on to say that the country’s need for medical equipment production is three to four billion dollars per year, some one billion dollars of which is imported. /T.T/

The fifth international conference of Iran smart city will be held from October 28 to 30 in Tehran. The conference will focus on different topics including smart economy, smart life, smart governance, smart environment, smart transport, and smart transformation.

A smart city is the key to achieving a smart society and sustainable development. Transferring global experiences and exchanging knowledge and expertise can facilitate and accelerate the movement towards the creation of smart cities.

The conference will be held with various, high-quality programs and the attendance of domestic and foreign experts as well as practitioners with the aim of providing a proper interaction between smart city agents, city managers, industrialists, experts, and knowledge-based centers to complete the smart city puzzle in the country.

World Cities Day

World Cities Day is celebrated annually on 31 October. It aims to create awareness of the role of urbanization in global sustainable development and social inclusion.

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) declared the Day to promote interest in global urbanization and encourage cooperation among countries in addressing the challenges of urbanization and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world.

The Day takes place during Urban October, which the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) launched in 2014 to emphasize the world’s urban challenges and engage the international community on the New Urban Agenda (NUA), which highlights inclusive cities. Urbanization offers opportunities for new forms of social inclusion, including greater equality, access to services and new opportunities, and engagement and mobilization. /T.T/

The director general of the Commercial Office of Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture says that $6 billion of agricultural products are annually exported from the country.

Considering its high capacity in the field of grain production, Iran can become the hub of the region in this field in addition to developing trade and increasing the gross national product (GNP), Shahyad Abnar stated.

Speaking in the 4th edition of the international conference of “Iran Grain”, he added that Iran’s capacity to export agricultural and food products is unique.

He put the capacity of the flour processing industry at 30 million tons, adding that this high capacity, in addition to meeting the domestic demand, can also meet the demand of neighboring states.

He put the annual export of agricultural products from the country at $6 billion.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Abnar said the private sector plays a leading role in the food industry and called on responsible officials in the current administration to remove trade barriers in this industry.

MNA/

The head of National Iranian Gas Transmission Company (NIGTC) has said that 99 percent of the country’s gas transmission equipment and facilities are domestically-made, noting that the country’s gas industry is on the verge of complete self-sufficiency.

Gholam-Abbas Hosseini put the area of the country’s high-pressure gas network at 40,000 kilometers and stressed the significant role of the NIGTC employees in maintaining and development the mentioned network./ T.T/

The 36th edition of the International Film Festival for Children and Youth has received 176 submissions from 48 countries. Participating countries include Serbia, Tajikistan, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan, Hungary, Italy, India, Palestine, France, China, Jordan, Russia, Qatar, Norway, and Armenia. Additionally, Spain, Mexico, the U.S., Mongolia, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, Tunisia, Iraq, and Ukraine, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

The competition is further enriched by entries from Sweden, Finland, Sri Lanka, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, Argentina, South Korea, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Bolivia, Chile, Luxembourg, Denmark, Canada, Lebanon, Syria, Austria, Poland, and Thailand, all vying for a spot in the festival’s competitive sections for short and feature-length films.

The lineup of the selected movies will be announced in the near future.

Back in July, the secretary of the festival Majid Zeinolabedin said that this year, conditions have been set in place for young filmmakers to participate in the festival and have their works compete with other productions.

The reality is that despite all the positive steps taken for children’s and youth cinema in previous years, this cinema is extremely weak and in dire need of a strategic plan for support, he added.

“Appropriate cultural funds should be allocated for this cinema.”

For such festival film viewing for families alongside children and youth attending the festival should be facilitated, he explained.

Moreover, incentive mechanisms should be established to support selected Iranian films at the stage of public screening, he mentioned.

The 36th edition of the International Film Festival for Children and Youth is set to be held in the central Iranian city of Isfahan from October 5 to 10.  / T.T/

There was double joy for Iran on the first day of the World Taekwondo Junior Championships in Chuncheon, Korea as Parnian Noori and Aynaz Nasiri won two gold medals.

Noori overcame China’s Yinuo Xu in an intriguing women’s -52kg final to become the first junior world champion crowned in Chuncheon, and her feat was later matched by her compatriot Nasiri, who staved off the challenge of Kazakhstan’s Nuray Kaznabek in the women’s -59kg.

Bronze medals went to Sila Irmak Uzunçavdar of Türkiye and Spain’s Noa Romero Fernandez in the -52kg weight category, and Ella Brewster of Canada and Croatia’s Marija Uglešić in the -59kg.

Iran has sent 16 boy and girl taekwondo athletes to the Championships in Chuncheon, to be held from Oct. 1 to 6.

There are 963 of the world’s most talented young athletes set to compete across 10 weight categories in both the men’s and women’s divisions. /T.T/

Iranian animators received two awards at the 27th edition of the Religion Today Film Festival in Trento, Italy. At the closing ceremony, which was held last week, Baran Sedighian won the Best Animation Award for her short animation “The Deer” and Mona Shams was awarded the Special Jury Mention for the short animation “Phoenix,” ISNA reported.

In a statement about selecting “The Deer” as the winner, the jury said: “We are delighted to present the award for Best Animation Short Film for a beautifully crafted tale that resonates with the themes of transformation and self-discovery. The film tells the story of a wounded deer who embarks on a journey of healing and introspection and chooses to leave his herd and set out in search of his new self. This captivating animation explores the courage it takes to embrace change and find one’s true path”.

A production of 2023, “The Deer” is a five-minute animation with no dialogues. The life of the deer in this animation changes radically after getting injured by hunters. His old world no longer seems to fit him, so he decides to leave.

On selecting the recipient of the Special Jury Mention, the jury said: “It goes to a film that merges the artistry of animation with the rawness of real-life experiences; a powerful documentary animation from Iran that explores the profound themes of migration and the search for a new homeland. Through the poignant story of a soldier who decides to leave everything behind and start again, this film offers a deeply moving portrayal of the courage it takes to rebuild one’s life”.

“Phoenix,” produced by the Documentary, Experimental, and Animation Cinema Expansion Center, delves into the concept of migration and leaving one’s homeland. It was crafted using the actual voices of Iranian migrants across the world.

It is an animated documentary, six minutes, based on real sounds. The story of the film is about a person who decides to immigrate, and different voices of immigrants collected in documentary form narrate the feelings and events of the hero of the film.

There were 64 films in competition, from 32 countries. The international jury was composed of leading professionals from the international film industry including producer and researcher Fateme Javhersaz from Iran.

Established in 1997 as the first Italian festival of spiritual cinema and inter-religious dialogue, the Religion Today Film Festival has come a long way, and today this appointment with religious cinema is well known and appreciated all over the world.

Religion Today is an international and itinerant film festival dedicated to religious diversity for a culture of peace and interfaith dialogue. It promotes a journey “exploring the differences”, both in religious practices and beliefs and in cinematic styles and languages, towards a mutual enrichment through reciprocal knowledge and comparison.

Together with the world cinema competition, open to any film with a religious connection, it offers a platform for exchanging ideas and viewpoints, including a “living workshop” involving filmmakers of different faiths and nationalities. /T.T/

Iran defeated Pakistan 41-34 to win the title of the 2024 World Beach Kabaddi Championship Sunday night. Team Melli had previously defeated Nepal, Turkmenistan, Denmark, Iraq and Kenya in the first edition of the event.

Iraq and Pakistan were awarded a joint bronze medal.

Iran, Nepal, Turkmenistan, Denmark, Pakistan, Palestine, Kenya, Germany and Lebanon competed in the first World Beach Kabaddi Championship, which was held in Bandar Anzali, Iran from Sept. 25 to 29.

Beach kabaddi is played in two 15-minute halves by two teams of four players who are not allowed to wear shoes. It is played at an international level in competitions such as the Asian Beach Games. /T.T/