Author Interviews, End of Life Care, Transplantation / 09.01.2017
How Spain Became a Leader In Transplant Organ Donation
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, MD, PhD
Organización Nacional de Trasplantes
Madrid Spain
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Organ shortage remains the most important barrier to the development of transplantation therapies. It leads to deaths on the waiting list, poor quality of life, increased costs to healthcare systems and emerging unethical practices as organ trafficking, mostly in the form of transplant tourism. Shortage of organs to meet the transplantation needs is a universal problem – also in Spain.
The potential of donation from the deceased is decreasing or expected to decrease in most developed countries, which makes it imperative to conceive new ways of increasing organ availibility.
In 2008, ONT conceived the 40 donors pmp plan, which includes the three strategies that are described in the paper:
- The identification of possible donors outside of the ICU to pose the option of intensive care to facilitate organ donation.
- The promotion of the expanded and non-standard risk donor.
- The development of donation after circulatory death
The three strategies have made the country not only reach, but even surpass the objective of 40 donors pmp (43,4 in 2016).
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