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The project will take place at the Clinical Institute of Urology and Renal Transplantation (CIURT/ICUTR) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, a tertiary referral centre specialising in advanced urology and renal transplantation. Throughout its existence, ICUTR has evolved into a centre of medical excellence, providing modern treatment options for patients with a wide range of urological conditions.
A defining component of the institute’s activity is the renal transplantation program, coordinated within Urology Department II â€" Renal Transplantation, which encompasses both surgical procedures and the long-term follow-up of transplant recipients. Additionally, the development of the pediatric kidney transplant program has further strengthened the institute’s role as a comprehensive centre for transplantation medicine. ICUTR is currently the only renal transplant centre serving the Central, Western, and North-Western regions of Romania. The centre has the potential to perform over 100 kidney transplants per year, with a peak of 168 procedures in 2013, placing ICUTR among the elite transplant units in Europe. Since its establishment, the centre has performed 2,556 kidney transplants, while an additional 2,571 patients with end-stage renal disease remain on the national waiting list.
The post-transplant follow-up activity accounts for a substantial part of the nephrology team’s workload, with more than 3,000 post-transplant evaluations conducted in 2024, highlighting both the complexity and the scale of ongoing care for transplant recipients. National Reach and Patient Referral Patterns National data indicate that over 68% of urology patients in Romania prefer to seek care in hospitals within their home counties. In contrast, ICUTR continues to attract patients from across the country: only 24.85% of hospitalised patients were from Cluj County in 2016, increasing to 39.56% in 2017 and 41.87% in 2024. Despite a gradual increase in local patient numbers, ICUTR remains a medical centre with strong national visibility and influence. This trend can be attributed to the institute’s reputation for excellence and the high public visibility of its renal transplant program. The decreasing proportion of patients originating from outside Cluj County may reflect either improved services in regional hospitals or a rising level of trust among the local population. Regardless, ICUTR maintains its strategic role within the national healthcare system. Most patients treated at the institute are working-age individuals, whose socio-professional reintegration is essential to reducing societal costs associated with chronic disease and lost productivity. Global Grants Community Assessment Results (October 2024) 1
In the 18â€"65 age group, patients accounted for 66.24% of admissions in 2016, 58.5% in 2017, and 65.05% in 2018. Recent Clinical Activity and Institutional Dynamics The total number of hospital admissions in continuous care has increased significantly, from 2,743 cases in 2018 to 3,482 in 2024, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and demonstrating a full recovery of institutional capacity. In parallel, outpatient activity has nearly doubled, exceeding 3,600 consultations annually, indicating greater accessibility and improved efficiency of patient pathways. Day-case admissions and emergency activity have also expanded steadily. Emergency cases have risen from under 1,000 cases in 2018 to more than 2,700 in 2024, reinforcing ICUTR’s role as a major regional referral centre for urological emergencies. The substantial growth in inter-departmental consultationsâ€"from 19 in 2018 to more than 1,200 in 2024â€"highlights the institute’s increasing integration within the wider hospital network of Cluj-Napoca and its expanding interdisciplinary collaboration.
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