Last year, Catalonia recorded various historical records in terms of organ transplants, although it also increased the percentage of refusals from families of the deceased, a circumstance that the health authorities intend to analyze.
“It makes us feel proud of the top-level health system we have,” said the Health Minister, Manel Balcells, in view of the figures. In Catalonia, 1,393 organ transplants were performed last year, 3.5% more than the record set in the previous year. At the same time, the number of cadaver donors stood at 384 people, 7.6% more than the previous year and 7 donors more than the maximum number, recorded in 2019.
According to Balcells, the data maintain Catalonia as a world reference in terms of transplantation and “denote the great work of raising awareness that hospital centers are doing and the great generosity of donors.”
Catalan hospitals will perform 976 kidney transplants in 2023, 2.9% more than in 2022; 226 hepatic (11.3%), 56 cardiac (3.7%) and 33 pancreatic (0%). The number of pulmonary interventions (102) decreased by 4.7%, a not at all significant decrease, according to Jaume Tort, director of the Catalan Transplantation Organisation.
The Vall d’Hebron was the hospital with the most interventions (399, of which 54 pediatric), ahead of the Clínic and Bellvitge. The donor profile is that of a 61-year-old man, in asystole death (irreversible respiratory arrest) due to a stroke, and born in Spain. The oldest donor was 88 years old. Two decades ago, the typical donor was a man of about 51 years old with brain death, Tort explained to illustrate the evolution of the profile.
For the second consecutive year, the number of donors with asystole death (56%) has exceeded the traditional profile of brain death (44%). And a record of living donors has been established, 187, which represents close to half of the total in Spain, all kidney donors. The majority corresponds to donations between husband and wife (39%) and between siblings (26%) and in 5% of cases there is no relationship between donor and patient.
There was a slight increase in donations from traffic accidents, which only represent 4.2% of deliveries, and cerebral vascular pathology continues to be the main origin of transplanted organs.
A third of the grafted organs arrived in Catalonia by air, 120 vital organs on private flights and 182 kidneys on regular flights.
With 123 cases, the rate of family refusals to transplant increased to 22%, according to Ocatt data. Tort has admitted that, although this is a much lower rate than those of our surrounding countries, the situation is worrying. “It is a topic that we want to study in depth because there is very little scientific literature on the causes of refusals.”
Last year, in Catalonia, in 45% of the cases the families did not provide any reason to oppose organ donation and 29% were due to the deceased’s previous refusal.
Other historical highs recorded last year affect the number of pediatric liver (24) and heart (12) transplants. There was also a record of new registrations in the registry of bone marrow donors (6,579) and tissues.
2,718 tissues obtained from 1,879 donors represents an increase of 7.4% compared to 2022. A total of 14,387 patients benefited from the donation of tissues distributed by the Banc de Sang i Teixits thanks to the donation after death. Ocular (mainly the cornea), musculoskeletal (the one that has the most demand and the most unmet needs), cutaneous, and cardiovascular (valves and arteries) are the most transplanted tissues.
Ona Alsina, a young woman who received a heart transplant last year, participated in the presentation of the Ocatt data. Curiously, she was both a recipient and a donor (of the heart valves she had removed, which were in good condition).
