Transplant Medicine: Global Leadership & Ethical Excellence
Transplant medicine represents one of the most complex and highly regulated areas of modern healthcare. Spain is widely recognised as the undisputed global leader in organ transplantation, a position it has held for over three decades. This success is supported by an exemplary health system, outstanding clinical outcomes, and a unique national coordination model—the «Spanish Model»—which is the gold standard worldwide.
In 2024, Spain performed over 6,400 transplants, consistently leading international rankings in donation rates, surgical safety, and long-term survival. At SHC, we facilitate access to Spain’s accredited transplant centres for international patients, ensuring full compliance with national regulations while offering structured medical coordination, absolute transparency, and continuity of care.
The Ethical & Legal Framework
Under Spanish law, the allocation of organs from deceased donors is strictly reserved for patients within the national health system to ensure equity. Therefore, international private patients may only access specific transplant procedures involving living donors or autologous/compatible tissues. SHC provides clear legal guidance from the outset to ensure all processes are conducted within this rigorous ethical framework.
Key Areas of Transplant Excellence
- The Gold Standard for Renal Care: Offers superior long-term survival rates (with reported survival rates of approximately 90% at 10 years).
- Advanced Techniques: Spain is a pioneer in Robotic-assisted Kidney Transplantation and ABO-incompatible programmes, allowing for successful transplants even when blood types do not match.
- Ethics: Performed exclusively in government-authorised hospitals with strict oversight by the National Transplant Organisation (ONT).
- World-Class Registry: Spain performs over 3,800 procedures annually. The Spanish Bone Marrow Donor Registry (REDMO) is integrated into the global WMDA network, ensuring rapid identification of compatible donors.
- Available Procedures: International patients can access both Autologous (own cells) and Compatible Allogeneic (donor cells) transplantations for leukaemias, lymphomas, and other blood disorders.
- Success Rates: Reported success exceeds 90% in paediatric cases in Spanish reference units.
- Lamellar Techniques: We facilitate access to the latest surgical innovations such as DMEK and DALK. These techniques are selected based on the specific corneal layer affected, ensuring a highly targeted and tissue-preserving approach..
- Key Benefits: These techniques offer rejection rates below 3% and significantly faster visual recovery than traditional penetrating keratoplasty.
- Stem Cell Therapy: Access to Limbal Stem Cell Transplantation for complex ocular surface reconstruction.
The SHC Advantage in Transplant Medicine
Legal Integrity & Transparency: Full guidance on Spanish regulations, ensuring your medical journey is 100% legal and ethical.
Access to Accredited Reference Centres (CSUR): We work only with hospitals authorised by the Ministry of Health for high-complexity transplants.
Multidisciplinary Coordination: We align surgeons, nephrologists, haematologists, and immunologists to ensure a seamless clinical pathway.