Oleg Rummo, director of the Minsk Research and Treatment Center for Surgery, Transplantology, and Hematology
The previous 12 months of 2025 was extremely productive for the Minsk Research and Treatment Center for Surgery, Transplantology, and Hematology. It carried out a report variety of organ transplant operations: 363 kidney transplants, 110 liver transplants, 7 lung transplants, and 53 coronary heart transplants. Thanks to the expert fingers and sensible minds of the middle’s workers and colleagues from main establishments and areas throughout the nation, 533 individuals with life-threatening sicknesses got an opportunity at a private future. The 12 months was additionally profitable for the top of the middle, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, and Academician Oleg Rummo. His title as soon as once more resonated throughout the nation. He was named Scientist of the Year by the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The reasoning behind this prestigious honor is as multifaceted similar to the work carried out by this Honored Doctor of the Republic of Belarus. Oleg Rummo spoke with BelTA concerning the areas of his scientific curiosity, coaching of top-tier scientific personnel, and achievements which have attracted the eye of international companions.
What private achievements in scientific analysis in 2025 do you consider are price highlighting?
We offered a considerable physique of labor for the competitors, achieved by the massive crew on the heart I lead. It is vital to emphasise that the achievements of recent drugs and medical science are removed from the work of a single particular person. They are the results of severe, in-depth, and productive efforts by numerous individuals. It is equally vital to notice that scientific discoveries immediately happen on the intersection of varied disciplines.
Literally simply earlier than your arrival, I used to be discussing with one among my doctoral students his dissertation, which is being ready for protection. This quite substantial joint analysis is devoted to minimizing immunosuppressive remedy after liver transplantation. The drawback is that the medicines used for such sufferers not solely suppress the immune system to stop rejection of the transplanted organ but in addition trigger unwanted side effects, negatively impacting the kidneys and cardiovascular system. Therefore, we have now embarked on a seek for various strategies of immunosuppressive remedy that may protect the standard of the transplanted organ, scale back the dosage of medication, and thus keep away from these unwanted side effects.
In our joint scientific work, we explored varied choices and strategies for the administration of mesenchymal stem cells and regulatory T-lymphocytes. We tried quite a few approaches till we secured a great final result. The analysis outputs have been revealed in a major variety of respected journals and, I hope, can be later explored extra profoundly in a doctoral dissertation. I emphasize that it is a extremely vital endeavor of the best worldwide caliber.
Last 12 months, I used to be awarded the Russian Government Prize in Science and Technology for growing and implementing a essentially new technique and progressive surgical applied sciences for the therapy of liver alveococcosis. This parasitic illness is sort of prevalent in Siberia and Central Asia. Population migration has led to its look in our nation as nicely.
For a number of years, our heart has been in search of new approaches to treating this complicated illness. The strategies we developed have been built-in right into a program proposed by a global crew, which included scientists from varied areas of the Russian Federation and Kyrgyzstan. Our collaborative efforts have been in the end acknowledged with the celebrated Russian Government Prize in Science and Technology.
Simultaneously, final 12 months we invested a whole lot of effort in establishing a financial institution of stem cells, valves, and vascular allografts at our heart. This work is now full, and the financial institution is functioning successfully. My pupil, Andrei Chisty, Head of the Tissue Biografts Department, efficiently defended his Candidate of Sciences dissertation.
My postgraduate pupil carried out substantial analysis targeted on growing protected strategies for the procurement, preservation, and scientific utility of allografts throughout a large spectrum of fields, primarily in vascular and common surgical procedure, cardiac surgical procedure, traumatology and orthopedics, dentistry, and combustiology. Incidentally, pores and skin grafts obtained by our laboratory specialists have been used within the therapy of Roman Kogodovsky, the boy whose heroism is understood all through the nation.
Beyond these achievements, one other important examine deserves consideration. Our heart is conducting vital analysis into strategies of treating liver most cancers. Our whole crew is deeply engaged on this topic. Several workers members are working on their Candidate or Doctoral dissertations beneath the supervision of my deputy for surgical procedure, Professor Aleksei Shcherba. These severe scientific works are revealed in extremely rated medical journals, carried out into scientific observe, and undoubtedly yield optimistic outcomes for our sufferers.
Last November, you served as a consulting surgeon for a liver transplant and intestinal auto-transplant operation in China. This speaks to the excessive authority of Belarusian surgical procedure, doesn’t it?
It’s not simply that we’re studying, although, consider me, there’s a lot to be taught from in China. Chinese drugs has made an amazing leap ahead in current many years. Today it ranks among the many prime main international practices, surpassing European and U.S. companions in lots of parameters. Why has this develop into potential? China trains personnel worldwide. Surgeons from China examine in the perfect worldwide clinics throughout varied fields of recent drugs. The tools in Chinese clinics is on the pinnacle of worldwide medical know-how. Finally, it’s a huge nation with an immense variety of sufferers, permitting for the buildup of colossal expertise. They share this expertise with us, whereas repeatedly adopting experience from colleagues in different nations, together with Belarus.
The time period “consulting surgeon” on this case confirms that our heart is just not standing nonetheless. We are grateful to our Chinese companions for his or her openness to exchanging expertise and demonstrating know-how. This isn’t nearly surgical procedure, but in addition oncohematology and the appliance of CAR-T remedy. Simultaneously, we share our personal applied sciences and invite Chinese companions as consulting specialists to debate distinctive scientific instances.


While in China, I used to be current on the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, which possesses the world’s largest expertise in performing such a novel operation as intestinal auto-transplantation for pancreatic most cancers. To radically take away a tumor within the pancreas, they first take away the gut and excise the tumor, after which re-implant the gut. My colleague, the hospital director in Hangzhou, Professor Liang Tingbo, possesses distinctive competencies on this regard. I used to be to look at this as a result of such ability isn’t seen elsewhere.
However, we additionally shared our developments when discussing points associated to pediatric cut up liver transplantation. Our heart performs such operations on youngsters weighing solely 5-7 kg. It was gratifying to understand that we converse the identical skilled language with our Chinese colleagues, and the approaches we proposed sparked real curiosity.
Overall, talking concerning the scientific and sensible features, final 12 months on the Minsk Research and Treatment Center for Surgery, Transplantology, and Hematology was marked by cooperation with Chinese companions.
Recently, our heart carried out its first operation utilizing a robotic system that we bought with our personal funds. This is among the most trendy robots on the earth. During our coaching periods in China, we witnessed its effectiveness in oncourology, oncological surgical procedure of the liver and pancreas, and different fields. To make the most of the most recent applied sciences, a brand new urology division opened on the heart on 1 January 2026.
The Minsk Research and Treatment Center for Surgery, Transplantology, and Hematology attracts an enormous variety of international delegations. The suggestions about your heart expressed in feedback to journalists is overwhelmingly optimistic. What surprises your international colleagues probably the most?
Obviously, each nation follows its personal path. Some nations corresponding to China have collected huge expertise and are keen to share it. Others want our assist and are available to be taught.
Many international companions have an interest within the organizational mannequin, particularly how, in such a small nation Belarus is, we have now been capable of obtain a number one place on the earth in quite a few areas with out having monumental monetary and human sources. For instance, our African colleagues and companions are shocked not even by how we save critically sick sufferers. They are fascinated by how such costly high-tech surgical procedures may be carried out for the nation’s residents completely freed from cost.
Foreign medical doctors are, in fact, impressed by the complexity of the procedures carried out at our heart. Last 12 months, for instance, a lung transplant for a affected person from Uzbekistan was really spectacular. In addition to his main illness he had extreme immunodeficiency and a congenital coronary heart defect, which tremendously sophisticated the scenario. At the identical time our organizational mannequin isn’t any much less spectacular to our international companions. Belarus has not deserted the rules proclaimed by President Aleksandr Lukashenko again in 1994.
It is vital to grasp that inexpensive medical care may be organized. Qualified medical care is supplied all through the civilized world. However, nobody on the earth has but managed to totally discover the optimum stability between accessibility and excessive {qualifications}, since often one comes on the expense of the opposite. The Belarusian expertise — how you can stability the best high quality and really excessive accessibility with the accessible sources — is of curiosity to many.
You have additionally been awarded the title of Scientist of the Year of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus – 2025 for coaching extremely certified scientific personnel. How many students do you’ve got?
At current my fourth doctoral pupil is making ready for his public protection. The doctoral dissertation has been written and submitted to the council. In addition, 4 candidate dissertations have been ready beneath my supervision. It is nothing to brag about. There are individuals who have educated many extra medical doctors and candidates of medical sciences. I feel I’ve time to focus on serving to others.
In conclusion, I want to notice that our heart is engaged in complete intensive work in varied areas. Fortunately, the outcomes haven’t gone unnoticed by the Belarusian and international medical neighborhood. Everything we do is for the good thing about our sufferers.
