Spain once again confirmed its position as a global benchmark in organ donation and transplantation, recording 6,335 transplants in 2025, equivalent to 129 transplants per million population. The figures were unveiled by Health Minister Mónica García, accompanied by Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, head of the Organización Nacional de Trasplantes.
For the second consecutive year, Spain surpassed 6,300 transplants, reflecting the strength of its public healthcare system and the commitment of thousands of professionals and donor families. The activity included 3,999 kidney transplants, 1,276 liver transplants, 556 lung transplants, 390 heart transplants, 103 pancreas transplants, and 11 intestinal transplants. Heart transplants reached their highest number ever, while pancreas and intestinal transplants also increased significantly.
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Spain reaffirms global leadership in organ transplantation with over 6,300 procedures in 2025
The transplant activity was supported by 2,547 deceased donors, resulting in a donor rate of 51.9 per million population, one of the highest worldwide. In addition, 408 living donations were recorded, mainly kidney donations. On average, Spain registered 8 donors and 17 transplants per day throughout the year.
Donation after circulatory death continued to gain importance and now accounts for 56% of all donors, reinforcing Spain’s unique position as the only country able to transplant all organ types from these donors, largely due to the widespread use of nationally developed ECMO preservation systems.
During the presentation, the Health Minister highlighted the resilience of the Spanish model and announced a new National Transplant Strategy for 2025–2030, developed in coordination with regional authorities. The strategy focuses on increasing organ availability, promoting living kidney donation, improving equitable access to transplantation, fostering innovation and outcome assessment, and strengthening transplant coordination teams.
Despite the high activity levels, 5,163 patients were still on transplant waiting lists at the end of 2025, underlining the ongoing need to expand donation and transplant capacity.