La Moncloa. 24/11/2025. The Ministry of Health reports that more than 7,400 people donated tissue in Spain in 2024 [News]

A single tissue donor can help around 100 people. Tissue transplantation is a well-established therapy in our country and, sometimes, the only therapeutic alternative available to the patient. In 2024, 7,429 people donated tissue for transplantation, which corresponds to a rate of 152.6 per million population (pmp). Their generosity made it possible to perform 54,474 transplants of all types of tissue for various clinical applications in Spain. This is confirmed by the report just published by the National Transplant Organisation (ONT).

Unlike organs, tissues can be stored for long periods of time, ensuring their quality and safety so that specialists can order the tissue required to treat patients at the right time. Currently in Spain, there are 94 facilities that process and store tissues, 239 procurement centres, and 933 implantation centres that have the specific authorisation to carry out this activity.

Of the 7,429 tissue donors in 2024, 4,958 (101.8 pmp) donated tissues after their death and 1,461 (30.0 pmp) donated during their lifetime. In addition, 1,010 calvarial bone fragments were obtained for autologous transplantation. This is the highest level of tissue donation activity in our history, both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of donors per million population.

Tissue donation after death increased by 13% compared to 2023. Catalonia led this type of donation (253.6 pmp), followed by Navarre (106.0 pmp) and the Valencian Community (98.1 pmp). In percentage terms, the autonomous communities with the largest increases in tissue donation from deceased individuals over the past year were Navarre (+45%), La Rioja (+40%), and Madrid (+31%).

Hip replacement surgeries, an opportunity to donate bone in life

Osteotendinous tissue (mostly bone) is the most abundant in terms of availability and clinical use. In 2024, 2,888 people donated this tissue (1,176 deceased donors and 702 living donors, plus 1,010 calvarial bone fragments for autologous use). The most frequently donated osteotendinous tissue by living donors is the femoral head, donated by people undergoing hip replacement surgery.

In 2024, 51,738 units/pieces of this type of tissue were available for clinical use across all tissue facilities in Spain. The most numerous was bone matrix (20,347 pieces), followed by bone filler material (17,047 units).

The number of procedures performed with osteotendinous tissue in our country in 2024 was 34,333. Most of the interventions performed with this tissue were orthopaedic and maxillofacial surgery (30,883), followed by dental surgery procedures, mainly implants (3,219), and other applications (238).

Eye tissue donation grows by 12%.

In terms of eye tissue, in 2024 a total of 4,765 people donated corneas or sclera after death, representing a 12% increase compared to 2023. These donations enabled 6,845 eye tissue implants in Spain, the majority of which were corneal transplants. Specifically, 5,853 corneal transplants were performed last year (3,137 endothelial keratoplasties, 2,347 penetrating keratoplasties, and 369 anterior lamellar keratoplasties).

In addition, 366 people donated skin, and 213 skin tissue implants were performed. These are primarily used for the treatment of wounds and burns.

Infant donors whose heart valves save lives

Cardiac tissue donation registered 260 donors in 2024. Five of them were paediatric heart valve donors, as small infants whose parents requested organ donation but were unable to donate their hearts for various reasons were often able to donate this type of tissue. Heart valve replacement is the most common procedure for which it is used. Last year, 198 such implants were performed, while 26 were for cardiac reconstruction and 9 for other types of surgery.

A total of 190 (3.9 pmp) people donated vascular segments (arteries and veins) in 2024. Thanks to this gesture, 188 vascular tissue implantation procedures were performed.

Regarding placenta donation, 775 women donated placentas in 2024. In 2024, 12,040 placental tissue procedures were performed. The most common use was the application of amniotic membrane extract drops for ophthalmological use, with a total of 9,569 procedures.

Common data for all autonomous communities

All these data are included in the new ONT report, which adheres to the data collection criteria recently established by the European Union to harmonise this information across all member states. Spain is one of the first countries to adapt to these guidelines.

This volume of activity reflects the importance of tissue donation and transplantation in our healthcare system and the significance of the National Strategic Tissue Plan, promoted by the ONT and adopted by the Transplant Commission of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System. This Plan is aligned with the requirements of the new European Regulation on Substances of Human Origin (SoHO), which aims to ensure the quality, safety and effectiveness of all these substances, to promote European sufficiency in the availability of critical SoHO and to protect the donors whose altruistic gesture improves the lives of thousands of people every year in the European Union.

Non official translation