In Europe 12 people die each day due to the lack of a suitable organ donor. At Getafe hospital in Madrid they have pioneered a life-saving organ donation service to match receivers with donors, and to put the mourning family at ease with their loss.

Organ donation - the Spanish model

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/15206140/N001-100316-002-EN.srt

I have a donor.   It's a 46 year old man, blood type B.

Doctor Miguel Casares from   Getafe Hospital in Madrid,

has just found an organ donor who died   from a brain haemorrhage.

The information is relayed in real time by   a transplant coordination centre.

In another hospital in Madrid the receiver   awaits the precious organ, a lung.

My key duty is to find all   the potential donors in this hospital

and coordinate the whole process so that   potential donors can become real donors.

Spain leads the world in organ donation.

In 2008 almost   4000 transplantations took place.

The number of donors in this country   is twice the European average.

The key to success was   the creation 20 years ago in 1989

of a national transplantation organisation   and the development of Spain's model.

That means having trained people,   the transplantation coordinators,

in all the hospitals where   you can find a donor.

Another reason for its success is   hospital staff training.

about how to receive and inform families   of potential donors.

These are families who must   be convinced quickly

Above all it’s about putting yourself in this   family's place, understanding their pain

and then put them in a situation where   they can help the other family.

Today in Europe 12 people die each day   from a lack of suitable donors.

In an effort to resolve this the European   Union is preparing a directive.

This law aims to define quality standards   and improve coordination between states.