Doctors in Spain were able to perform 4, 818 transplants in 2016 including 2, 994 kidney transplants. This scenario reflects that there were 43.4 organ donors per million inhabitants in the past year compared to 2015's 40.2 donors.
According to CTV News, compared to other countries, Spain is leading in terms of organ transplant as compared to other countries. The United States has just 28.2 donors per million inhabitants in 2015, 28.1 in France, and 10.9 in Germany. According to Rafael Matesanz, after transplant, the patient starts to recover initiated by gaining weight. Matesanz is the founder of National Transplant Organization (ONT).
The ONT is an institution belonging to the Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality geared towards the development of skills related to the delivery and clinical utilization of organs, tissues, and cells. The essential duty of the organization is to promote organ transplant.
Matesanz described the implementation of centralized, healthy organ donation and organized transplant system that has inspired medical institutions across Europe. One key person in the successful transplant system of Spain is the transplant coordinator. A transplant coordinator is usually a nurse or a doctor whose specialization is intensive care.
Organ donations are quickly informed to ONT in order to look for the best match. Kidneys, livers, lungs and pancreas and sometimes even the heart can be transplanted. To avoid organ trafficking, operations are free under Spain's public healthcare system, however, available only to residents of the country.
Furthermore, in Spain, only four to six percent of patients died in 2016 while waiting for a vital organ transplant either liver, heart or lung. According to National Kidney Foundation, on average, three thousand new patients are added to the kidney waiting list each month. In the year 2014, 4, 761 patients died while waiting for a kidney transplant.
Matesanz also explained that the success of the Spain in organ transplant includes training and communication. Empathy, sensitivity, and respect are the key secret as stated by Belen Estebanez, a transplant coordinator at Madrid's La Paz Hospital. Altogether, organized centralization and great character possessed by the health care professional are the keys to in changing people's quality of life.
