After 2,000 liver transplants in 30 years, the ACV is at the global apex
Three decades after the first liver transplant in the Basque Country, the Basque Health Service has carried out almost 2,000 such transplants, about 75 per year, and ranks first worldwide, with a rate of 60 transplants per million inhabitants, three times the average in Western countries.
Coinciding with the celebration of World Transplant Day, which will take place on Friday, 27 February, Osakidetzatoday wished to recall a crucial milestone in the history of Basque health: the first liver transplant carried out in the Basque Country on 1 February 1996 at the University Hospital of Cruces, the first stone of a programme that has since made it possible to carry out almost 2,000 such interventions ; not for nothing, this hospital has become a reference in the Basque Country for liver transplant management.
The liver transplant team at Cruces University Hospital took stock of 30 years of activity this Thursday. The event was attended by Mikel Gastaka Mateo, clinical head of the Hepatobilic and Liver Transplant Surgery Unit, Javier Bustamante Schneider , doctor of the Hepatology Unit, and Kepa Esnaola Gangoiti , coordinator of the HUC Transplant Unit, representing the entire Transplant Unit of the University Hospital of Cruces.
As explained, Cruces University Hospital is one of the centers with the highest activity and the highest performance, and is among the three state centers with the highest number of liver transplants in the year, more than 70.
Adjusting to the years
According to Mikel Gastaka, as society has changed over the years, both organ donors and recipients have changed and have necessarily had to adapt. In the early years, donors were almost always young people killed in accidents.
However, by reducing road deaths, the group began to use its experience and new surgical and anesthetic techniques to transplant the liver of "older people," and by 2025 40% of donors were over 70 years of age, most of whom died from cerebrovascular disease.
The dissemination of donor profiles and treatments for certain types of hepatitis that can be cured has also made it possible to expand the types of transplanted patients, and among the milestones is that since 2019 there have also been interventions for oncological patients.
Solidarity, key
Currently, survival results at Cruces University Hospital are 96 percent within a year of transplantation, 91 percent within three years and 87 percent within five years.
He added that "the very high rate of transplantation in the Basque Country means that patients have to wait an average of 40 days to transplant, and currently there are only 5 people on the list", an "exceptional" fact at international level.
The medical team and patients who participated in the event wanted to highlight and thank the solidarity and contribution of the Basque organ donors, which has meant keeping the ACV among the communities with the highest donation rate in the State, with 64.3 donors per million inhabitants by 2025.
You might like
Cases of gender-based violence during pregnancy can be identified through health consultations
During pregnancy, women have a close relationship with the health system: they have consultations with midwife, gynaecologist and nurse. As could be the key to identifying situations of gender-based violence. Anternational experts in San Sebastian have called for a coordinated response from the health and social spheres in the summer course on Violence and Motherhood.
Painted against Basque footballer Einar Galilea appeared in Malaga after spreading his image with the Argentine T-shirt
Painted with insults have appeared near La Rosaleda after the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina. The photo of the Malaga player has been posted on social media, although it is not clear when it was taken.
Farewell to smoking on terraces and beaches: this is the new anti-smoking law, which equates the vaporizer with the cigarette
The new law passed by the Spanish Government prohibits smoking and bathing on terraces and beaches, since it equates electronic cigarettes with traditional tobacco and provides for fines of up to 600 euros.
Two monitors have been arrested in Biarritz on charges of raping and sexually assaulting children aged three and four
The Baiona Public Prosecutor's Office has reported that, according to testimonies collected so far, evidence of 12 cases of sexual assault and one rape has been found, and no further evidence is ruled out.
Asian algae: the green carpet that occupies the seabed of our shores
The appearance of this seaweed on our beaches is only a visible part, as Asian seaweed is forming real green carpets on the seabed of our coast, its spread threatens biodiversity and creates new challenges to control it.
The Spanish Government has finally passed the anti-smoking law prohibiting smoking on terraces and beaches
The new regulation equates e-cigarettes and vaporizers with conventional tobacco, extends smoke-free areas and restricts the sale of new products to specialized establishments.
Euskal Encounter will bring together about 5,000 participants and more than 4,000 computers in the BEC
The technology macroconference will take place from 23 to 26 July and special attention will be paid to artificial intelligence and quantum computers.
Three women have been killed in the last 24 hours in Malaga, Alicante and Toledo by male violence
The women, aged between 30 and 59, have been assaulted by their partners, two of whom have been arrested and a third has allegedly committed suicide. Auardia Civil investigates another case in Malaga.
Being rescued at the pier on the island of Lekeitio could cost up to 1,500 euros
A Decree-Law 2025 provides that the cost of the rescue operation may be attributable to the rescued person if the rescue is carried out in an area marked as dangerous, as it has been for weeks in the case of the pier to the island of Lekeitio.
Withholding at the A-8 off Muskiz in the Santander sense due to an accident between two cars
As a result of the accident, a lane has been cut off from traffic and traffic jams are taking place.