MADRID, 14 (EUROPA PRESS)
Spain has reaffirmed its global leadership in deceased organ donation, with 2,562 donors in 2024, representing 24 percent of donations in the European Union (EU) and 5 percent of those registered worldwide. This is remarkable considering that Spain represents only 11 percent of the European population and 0.6 percent of the world's.
This is evident from the latest report from the World Observatory of Donation and Transplantation Registry, managed by the National Transplant Organization (ONT), which indicates that Spain recorded a rate of 53.9 deceased donors per million population (pmp), followed by the United States, with 49.7 donors pmp.
Of all donations, Spain performed a total of 6,463 transplants, representing a rate of 136.1 transplants pmp, a figure surpassed only by the United States, with 143.2 transplants pmp and a total of 48,935 operations.
The Ministry of Health has specified that the difference in transplant rates between the two countries is due to the fact that the United States has a greater rate of living donations and its different deceased donor profile, which is younger and frequently dies from preventable causes.
ALSO LEADER IN ASYSTOLE
The Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation report highlights that 173,286 organ transplants were performed worldwide last year, representing a two percent increase compared to the activity recorded in 2023. This record high was due to the expansion of asystole donation, which occurs after death from cardiorespiratory arrest, which increased by 17 percent.
Regarding Spain's contribution in this area, the country again led the way with 1,316 non-heart-beating donors and a rate of 27.7 per million population (pmp). Thus, it contributed 50 percent of non-heart-beating donors in the European Union (EU) as a whole and 10 percent worldwide.
Regarding transplant activity in asystole, Spain also repeated as a benchmark, with a rate of 59.8 pmp interventions, followed by the United States and the Netherlands, which performed 38.1 and 38.0 pmp transplants of this type, respectively.
The Director General of the ONT, Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, highlighted Spain's "privileged position" in the world. "Once again, for more than three consecutive decades, Spain has led the world in organ donation, in the rate of donors per million inhabitants, and also enjoys an absolutely privileged position in terms of access to transplant therapy," she emphasized.
For her part, the Minister of Health, Mónica García, expressed her commitment to continuing to improve the transplant system, which she emphasized should be a "great source of pride" in Spain, and to supporting innovation. She emphasized that this system, along with the solidarity of the population and the "excellent" work of healthcare professionals, enable Spain to achieve global leadership.
WORLD ACTIVITY
Of the 173,286 transplants registered in the 91 countries that have provided their data, 110,021 were kidney transplants (37% from living donors); 42,494 were liver transplants (23% from living donors); 10,286 were heart transplants; 8,236 were lung transplants; 2,075 were pancreas transplants; and 174 were intestinal transplants. As in 2023, the largest increase was recorded in lung transplants, which grew by six percent, followed by liver transplants (5%), heart transplants (2%), and pancreas transplants (2%).
These procedures were made possible thanks to the 47,175 people who donated their organs after death and the 50,588 who donated an organ while alive (40,706 kidneys, 9,864 livers, and 18 lungs).
Regarding non-heart donation, 13,366 such interventions were recorded, a figure that represents nearly 30 percent of deceased donors worldwide. It should be noted that this type of donation was only performed in 26 countries due to the lack of appropriate regulatory frameworks and its technical complexity.
Asystole donors enabled 27,373 organ transplants of all types. Considering the technology required to ensure adequate outcomes, the progressive growth in asystole heart transplants is notable, increasing from 823 procedures in 2023 to 1,073 in 2024. These were performed in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Spain, the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, with 101 of them in Spain (9%).
ACTIVITY IN THE EU
Donation and transplantation in the 27 EU countries reached record highs again in 2024. With 10,847 deceased donors and 3,581 living donors, 32,222 organ transplants were performed in the EU last year. The increase in both donation and transplantation was more than five percent compared to the activity recorded in 2023.
Along with Spain, Portugal (36.7), the Czech Republic (34.3), and Belgium (32.6) led the list in terms of donor rates pmp, while the EU average was 24.2. At the top of the transplant list are Spain, France (93.1 pmp), Belgium (92.6), and the Netherlands (91.4), with an average for all EU countries of 72.0.
Despite the observed growth, as of December 31, 2024, 52,538 patients in the EU were on the waiting list for an organ transplant. According to data from the Global Observatory, nine patients died every day in the EU while waiting for a transplant.
STABILITY IN LATIN AMERICA
Meanwhile, Latin America, with whom Spain has collaborated for 20 years within the Ibero-American Network/Council for Donation and Transplantation (RCIDT) through technical advice and training of healthcare professionals in transplant coordination through the Alliance Program, maintained a very stable situation after the growth observed in 2023.
In 2024, the region recorded 6,023 deceased donors (9.9 pmp). A total of 17,432 organ transplants were performed (28.6 pmp). The country with the highest donation activity was Uruguay, with 19.7 donors pmp, followed by Argentina and Brazil, with 17.4 and 17.3 donors pmp, respectively. Argentina, with 36 non-heartbeat donors, established itself as a benchmark for this type of donation in the region.
Worldwide, the report highlights the volume of transplants performed in China and India. In China, 24,684 transplants (17.2 pmp) were performed, primarily from deceased donors. Meanwhile, in India, 18,911 organ transplants (13.1 pmp) were performed, with living donors predominating.
Other countries with a significant volume of transplants were Brazil (8,910; 40.9 pmp), Turkey (5,268; 61 pmp), the United Kingdom (4,637; 68.2 pmp), the Republic of Korea (3,357; 64.9 pmp), Canada (3,243; 82.9 p.mp) and Mexico (3,080; 23.8 p.mp).
