In 2024, the public hospitals of the Balearic Islands registered a significant increase in organ donations, reaching a total of 176 transplanted organs, 44 more than in 2023. This increase is made possible by the generous altruistic act of 57 donors and their families, bringing the donor rate in the region to 47 per million inhabitants, an increase of nine donors compared to the previous year.

The Minister of Health, Manuela García; the President of the National Transplant Organisation, Beatriz Domínguez; the Director General of the Health Service, Javier Ureña; and the Regional Transplant Coordinator, Miguel Agudo, alongside members of the multidisciplinary team at Son Llàtzer University Hospital. Photo: CAIB.

By island, Majorca led the donations with 48 donors, followed by Menorca with 6, and Ibiza and Formentera with 3 donors. Of the 57 donors, 21 donated in asystole, more than a third, a technique that allows organ extraction in cases of cardiorespiratory arrest, while the remaining 36 were brain death donors.

It is worth noting that of the total donors, fifteen were foreign and one was a paediatric donor. As for the number of organs donated by these donors, 112 were kidneys, 42 livers, 10 lungs, 8 hearts, and 4 pancreases.

The Minister of Health, Manuela García, thanked the effort and dedication of the multidisciplinary teams carrying out these transplants and placing the Balearic Islands among the most advanced autonomous communities, as well as the solidarity of the donors and their families who have gifted many years of life to patients in need of their organs, according to sources from the Balearic Government.

Records in kidney and liver transplants

Regarding the transplants, Son Espases University Hospital performed a total of 89 kidney transplants, the highest number ever recorded, and 22 liver transplants, also setting a record since the start of the programme in 2021. Of the total transplants, 90 were performed on patients from Majorca, 17 from Ibiza, and 4 from Menorca.

Outside the archipelago, 24 patients received transplants in other autonomous communities, with notable transplants of heart, lung, liver, and kidney carried out in Catalonia, Madrid, and the Canary Islands.

Tissue donation

Regarding tissue donation, last year saw 121 cornea donors and 30 donors of osteotendinous tissue. As for bone marrow donors, 311 new registrations were added to the REDMO (Spanish Bone Marrow Donor Registry).