New record for transplants
Catalan hospitals performed 908 in 2014, one quarter of nationwide total.
BarcelonaCatalonia has once again smashed the record for organ transplants. Throughout 2014 908 operations of this type were performed, 7.2% more than the previous year. When compared to the figures from 30 years ago, the growth is even more pronounced: they went from 292 in 1984 to 908 in 2014. The main reason for the historic figure is the increase in donors in cardio-respiratory arrest -- asystole--, which has doubled the number of valid donors when compared to the previous year. In 2014 two to three transplants were performed every day.
The Hospital Clinic performed the most transplants, followed by the Bellvitge Hospital and Vall d’Hebron. There are currently 23 hospitals authorized to remove organs and eight to perform transplants. "The figures recorded are at a high level; we have made a virtue out of necessity", declared Health Minister Boi Ruiz yesterday. He added that Catalonia "is home to a quarter of all transplants done in Spain".
In the same line, the vice-president of the Catalan Transplant Society, Antonio Roman, declared: "We have made transplants into a normal thing". Of all organ transplants, 604 were kidneys, 162 livers, 56 hearts, 67 lungs, and 19 pancreas. As regards donations, Catalonia is above the European and American average, but below the Spanish average. The number of valid donors last year was 218, and increase of 5.31% over 2013.
More donors
The increase of live donors, and those in asystole --in cardio-respiratory arrest, but with their organs still living-- has compensated for a fall in cadaver donations, which was mainly due to a decrease in traffic accident fatalities. The number of donors with brain death went from 189 in 2013 to 182, while those in asystole went from 18 to 36. The number of live donors remained almost the same, going from 164 to 165.
"Despite the positive data both in transplants and in donations, we cannot lower our guard", reminded Roman. In fact, the percentage of family members refusing organ donation has been trending upward during the past three years. In 2014 it increased almost 2% to 19.7%. The primary cause of the family refusals is the wish of the donor (43%), followed by the refusal of the family with no reason given (38%). At the end of last December there were 1,256 people waiting to receive an organ. Of these, the great majority were waiting for a kidney. "The fact that live kidney donations are growing allows us to meet the needs of this group", said the director of the Catalan Transplant Organization (Ocatt), Jaume Tort. 54% of cadaver donors were men, with an average age of 57.7.
Achieving more donations
"The average donor age is increasing, with 26.1% being more than 70 years old", explained the director of Ocatt. To achieve an increase in donors, Tort announced that they will soon introduce a credential to the patient’s health folder that "might even replace the donor card". With this measure, they hope to make the decision by family members easier at the moment of death.
Another strategy of the Catalan Health Ministry will be to include donation information on social networks. In addition, they will try to increase the detection of cases of brain death, by involving the emergency services and increasing the involvement of more centers in finding donors.
They will also try to increase the detection of cases of asystolic death. "Every day when I wake up I’m aware that I carry a piece of another person. I’ve been born again", said Mercè Gené, a transplant patient.
