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Spain top of the world for transplants - again
16/01/2018
SPAIN is still number one in the world for transplant operations, having beaten its own records for the fifth year on the trot, and waiting lists for adults are gradually going down, says the National Transplant Organisation (ONT).
A total of 2,183 donors in 2017 meant surgeons were able to carry out 5,259 transplant operations in what turned out to be a record year.
With 46.9 donors per million inhabitants, 2017 has seen the highest number yet – well above the 43.4 per million in 2016 and more than double the European Union average of 21.5 per million.
As many as six people donate organs and 14 transplant operations are carried out every day in Spain, and patients on the waiting lists have gone down from 5,480 to 4,896, mostly because of being able to undergo their transplants in a much quicker timeframe rather than because of patients dying before an organ becomes available.
But waiting lists for children are growing, with the 58 from 2016 rising to 74 children in 2017.
The vast majority of transplants were kidneys, which often involve live donors, with 3,269 operations, a rise of 9% on the previous year.
Liver transplants – which can also involve live donors where a small piece of the organ is used rather than the entire liver – were the second-most common in 2017 with 1,247 operations carried out, an increase of 8%.
Lung transplants went up by 18% year on year, to 363.
Every single one of Spain's 17 autonomously-governed regions reported more than 35 donors per million inhabitants, and nine of them showed numbers way above the national average.
In Cantabria, 74.1 donors per million residents meant the northern coastal region had the highest figures in the country, followed by La Rioja's 71 per million and the Basque Country and Navarra joint third with 70.3 per million.
Spain is the only country in the world which carries out more than 100 transplants per million inhabitants, averaging 113 across the regions.
But the ONT is still not satisfied – its leader, Dr Beatriz Rodríguez-Gil, wants to see numbers climb to 50 donors per million inhabitants and 5,500 transplant operations carried out annually within the next four years.
This will involve even closer cooperation between the ONT and A&E departments, and finding ways to increase the number of live donors.
This is especially important with children, says Dr Rodríguez-Gil.
“Spain's low infant mortality rate – which is very positive indeed – does mean we have to explore other ways of finding organs for children who need them, such as greater contact with other countries,” she says.
The ONT is also focusing on transplants for those affected by the Hepatitis C virus, who are 'in a very delicate situation', and on a process known as 'organ rescue', whereby organs not initially considered valid for donation can be 'resuscitated'.
“What we would call a resounding success would be increasing the number of transplant operations without having to increase the number of donors,” says Dr Rodríguez-Gil, “because this would mean making greater use out of all organs donated.”
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SPAIN is still number one in the world for transplant operations, having beaten its own records for the fifth year on the trot, and waiting lists for adults are gradually going down, says the National Transplant Organisation (ONT).
A total of 2,183 donors in 2017 meant surgeons were able to carry out 5,259 transplant operations in what turned out to be a record year.
With 46.9 donors per million inhabitants, 2017 has seen the highest number yet – well above the 43.4 per million in 2016 and more than double the European Union average of 21.5 per million.
As many as six people donate organs and 14 transplant operations are carried out every day in Spain, and patients on the waiting lists have gone down from 5,480 to 4,896, mostly because of being able to undergo their transplants in a much quicker timeframe rather than because of patients dying before an organ becomes available.
But waiting lists for children are growing, with the 58 from 2016 rising to 74 children in 2017.
The vast majority of transplants were kidneys, which often involve live donors, with 3,269 operations, a rise of 9% on the previous year.
Liver transplants – which can also involve live donors where a small piece of the organ is used rather than the entire liver – were the second-most common in 2017 with 1,247 operations carried out, an increase of 8%.
Lung transplants went up by 18% year on year, to 363.
Every single one of Spain's 17 autonomously-governed regions reported more than 35 donors per million inhabitants, and nine of them showed numbers way above the national average.
In Cantabria, 74.1 donors per million residents meant the northern coastal region had the highest figures in the country, followed by La Rioja's 71 per million and the Basque Country and Navarra joint third with 70.3 per million.
Spain is the only country in the world which carries out more than 100 transplants per million inhabitants, averaging 113 across the regions.
But the ONT is still not satisfied – its leader, Dr Beatriz Rodríguez-Gil, wants to see numbers climb to 50 donors per million inhabitants and 5,500 transplant operations carried out annually within the next four years.
This will involve even closer cooperation between the ONT and A&E departments, and finding ways to increase the number of live donors.
This is especially important with children, says Dr Rodríguez-Gil.
“Spain's low infant mortality rate – which is very positive indeed – does mean we have to explore other ways of finding organs for children who need them, such as greater contact with other countries,” she says.
The ONT is also focusing on transplants for those affected by the Hepatitis C virus, who are 'in a very delicate situation', and on a process known as 'organ rescue', whereby organs not initially considered valid for donation can be 'resuscitated'.
“What we would call a resounding success would be increasing the number of transplant operations without having to increase the number of donors,” says Dr Rodríguez-Gil, “because this would mean making greater use out of all organs donated.”
Related Topics
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