Washington, DC, March 6, 2023 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Ministry of Health of the Spanish Government today agreed to strengthen organ donation and transplantation in the Americas.
“Spain is the most important partner of PAHO, due to the support of key projects in the region,” said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director of PAHO, through the signing of a memorandum of understanding together with the Minister of Health of the Government. Spain, Carolina Darias, in the US city.
The meeting also discussed various issues of joint cooperation such as primary health care, vaccine production, medicine, health technology in the region, antimicrobial resistance, equity, gender and cultural diversity, and vaccination against COVID-19.
“Spain is a permanent member of the region,” said Minister Darias, confirming that a new agreement could be implemented as a meeting of the Ibero-American Donation and Transplantation Network and Council, a key initiative to improve legislative cooperation in legislative matters; the training of professionals and the discussion of ethical and social aspects of organ donation and transplantation. The network is made up of 21 countries in America, Spain and Portugal.
As part of the agreement, activities will also be planned to support the PAHO 2019-2030 plan and action plan to increase equitable access to organ, tissue and cell transplantation.
In 2021, more than 58,000 transplants were performed in the Americas, according to the Global Observatory of Donation and Transplantation (GODT) of the World Health Organization (WHO), which is maintained by the National Transplantation Organization (ONT) of Spain. The quantity is insufficient to satisfy demand, leaving thousands of people on a waiting list.
Although the region has the largest proportion of deceased donors per million people of the six WHO regions, the rate varies greatly between countries. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reduced donation rates and in some cases led to the closure of donation and transplant services.
Conventions in recording will be carried out by the technical teams of PAHO and ONT, an agency of the Spanish Ministry of Health and in collaboration with the WHO center, globally as the most powerful model to identify organ shortages.
PAHO is technically with the national donation and transplant program in the country to ensure the availability and access to organs, tissues and cells, as well as transparency and the fight against organ and tissue trafficking.
Spain’s collaboration with PAHO began in 1980, when the country joined PAHO as a State Scout. Since then, Spain has become a key partner of the Organization in areas such as health policy and access to quality services, emergency preparedness and response, and the fight against infectious diseases.
Spain has also participated in the basic response to the pandemic in the Americas, supporting vaccination against COVID-19, with the contribution of more than 22 million vaccines in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
