It also led tissue donation among Catalan centres and living-donor kidney transplants across Spain.
Last year, a total of 285 kidneys, liver, and heart transplants were performed, thanks to the generosity of families and the dedication of healthcare professionals. Thanks to the generosity of families and the dedication of healthcare professionals.
In 2024, one out of every five organ transplants performed in Catalonia took place at Bellvitge University Hospital (HUB). Bellvitge carried out a total of 285 organ transplants in adults last year. It was the Catalan healthcare centre with the highest number of kidney transplants (205) and heart transplants (27), a record for the hospital. Notably, 48 kidney transplants came from living donors, the highest number in Spain. Additionally, 53 liver transplants were performed.
For the third consecutive year, Bellvitge Hospital also led tissue donation in Catalonia, with 367 donors.
With these results, HUB has made a significant contribution to the total number of transplants performed in Catalonia, which reached 1,344—a 3.5% decrease compared to 2023, when the record for organ transplants was set. The official data published this week by the Catalan Transplant Organization (OCATT) and the Spanish National Transplant Organization (ONT) consolidates Bellvitge Hospital as one of the leading centres in the transplant system, excelling in its three main areas of activity: kidney, heart, and liver transplants.
Another milestone achieved by Bellvitge Hospital in September of last year was the world’s first facial transplant from a controlled asystole donor. This highly complex procedure lasted approximately 12 hours and involved a team of around 60 professionals from over 10 different medical and surgical specialities. It marked the first time globally that a controlled asystole extraction enabled the retrieval of the heart, face, and kidneys, showcasing HUB’s extensive expertise in organ procurement under asystole conditions, including the heart.
Dr. Gabriel Moreno González, director of the Transplant Program at Bellvitge Hospital, highlighted:
“Thanks to a tremendous multidisciplinary effort, we have consolidated complex techniques such as heart donation under asystole. We have maintained the number of liver transplants and led kidney transplants both overall and specifically in living-donor transplants, as well as tissue donations. Additionally, we’ve increased the number of multi-tissue donors, improving the quality of life for hundreds of people.”
“None of this would have been possible without the generosity of donors and their families, who we approach during very challenging times to ask for their ability to give life to others,” concluded the director of HUB’s Transplant Program.
Despite also experiencing the overall rise in family refusals for donation authorization in Catalonia, Bellvitge Hospital ranked as the third centre in Catalonia in terms of the number of donors, with a total of 54 (55% of which were asystole donations). It remains among the top ten nationally.
A total of 48 kidney transplants performed at HUB in 2023 were made possible thanks to living donors. This figure accounts for nearly 20% of all kidney transplants at HUB and establishes it as the hospital with the highest activity in living-donor kidney transplants in Spain. This achievement is even more significant considering the national decline in living donations. It’s also worth noting that most of these transplants were performed using robotic surgery, positioning HUB as a leader among Catalan centres in employing this technology for living-donor kidney transplants.
With 205 kidney transplants performed last year, HUB ranks as the second centre in Spain in this field.
In terms of heart transplants, Bellvitge Hospital achieved a new milestone, setting a record with 27 transplants, 13 of which came from asystole donors. In addition to performing the most heart transplants in Catalonia, HUB ranks as the third centre nationally.
In the year 2021, HUB carried out Catalonia’s first heart transplant using a heart from a controlled asystole donor. Since then, it has performed 30 heart transplants under controlled asystole conditions, making it the second hospital in Spain in this field.
Regarding liver transplants, HUB nearly maintained its activity compared to 2023, with 53 procedures in the year when it celebrated the 40th anniversary of Spain’s first-ever liver transplant, performed on February 23, 1984.