A transplant is replacing a diseased organ or tissue with another that functions properly. Today it is a highly developed medical technique that achieves magnificent results for recipients. However, it necessarily requires the existence of donors. Without the solidarity of donors there are no transplants.
The Spanish are a supportive people. Spain is the country with the highest donation rate in the world. Donations are always made altruistically and the entire process is covered, from a financial point of view, by the National Health System. These bases of operation provide us with the privilege of having greater possibilities of obtaining a transplant if needed. The Spanish model of how transplants work is considered worldwide an example to imitate, which in fact is being implemented in much of the world.
But being a model of solidarity cannot help us turn our backs on reality. Every day there are more people who need to be transplanted to continue living. Approximately 10% of recipients die while waiting to receive an organ.
In Spain, donation and transplant are regulated by the Transplant Law, which guarantees, among others, two fundamental aspects:
-Altruism of donation: no one can donate or receive a transplant with other intentions or means other than altruistic solidarity.
-Equity in access to transplant: we all have the same right and the same possibilities of receiving a transplant, regardless of our place of residence or any other personal situation. This is so, because there is a national coordination and transplant network, subject to rigorous controls to verify the equality of all citizens.
Who can be a donor?
Any person who, while alive, decides that, upon death, their organs will serve to save or improve the lives of others, can be an organ donor. However, you should know that despite our desire to be an organ donor, not all of us will be able to be one, since to do so, it will be necessary for death to occur in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital. It is in these units where it is possible to carry out the preservation of the organs and the necessary tests to carry out a correct assessment of each potential donor.
It will be the medical team who, once all the necessary tests have been carried out, will decide whether the deceased can be a donor and what organs.
What organs can be donated?
The organs that can be donated are the kidneys, liver, heart, pancreas and lungs.
In addition, a donation can also obtain tissues, which are also very necessary, such as bone, corneas and heart valves.
Can you choose which organs to donate?
Given the shortage of organs for transplant, we try to obtain the greatest possible use of each donation. The usual thing is that the donation is complete, however, if you wish not to donate an organ and/or tissue, it is enough to have expressed it while you are alive to your family. They will communicate their wishes after death.
Family consent and donation.
According to the Transplant Law, in Spain we are all considered donors if we have not expressed otherwise during our lifetime. However, this expression may have been formulated in different ways, which requires family members or close friends to be asked about the deceased’s wishes regarding the donation. In practice, the family’s decision is always respected, since it is assumed that they would not contradict the wishes of their loved one. The family’s signature to proceed with the donation is what we call family consent.
Living donation.
Living donation is possible if the conditions and requirements established by the Law are met. The donor must be of legal age and enjoy good physical and mental health. The Law includes the steps to be followed by all those involved: medical professionals and judicial personnel and donor and recipient; to guarantee the rights of both parties, freedom in decisions, voluntariness, gratuitousness and altruism. Since each case has its own particularities, the recommendations are to consult all doubts with the medical team responsible for the patient.