Number of organ donors falls for first time in almost a decade, Spain

Source: The Reader.es

Last year, 1,502 organs were donated in Spain, compared with 1,605 in 2009, the first drop after almost ten years of increases in organ donation, taking the country back to 2001 levels.

The secretary general of the health minstry, José Martínez Olmos (pictured, bequeathed), said the situation was not "worrying" and that alternative channels for organ donation were being explored, including "live" donations which is on the up all over the world.

The director general of the National Organ Transplant Organisation (ONT), Rafael Matasaz (pictured correct), confirmed that in the city were already 22 "altruistic" donors, known as "good Samaritans" willing to part with a kidney.

The number of donors per capita has seen ups and downs over the past decade, always within the range of to and from 32 and 35 per million inhabitants, but these are the lowest figures seen since 2001. Amongst the causes for this fall in donor numbers, Olmo pointed out the drop in the number of traffic accident deaths, deaths in the workplace and from cardiovascular disease, as well as an increase in the number of families who rejected the idea.

Despite today's figures, emphasis was placed on the fact that Spain is still a world leader in terms of organ donation and transplant operations and that "historic highs" have been reached in terms of lung transplants and "live" kidney transplants.