Trinidad JIMENEZ, Spanish Health Minister, speaks about organ donation and transplantation, during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

statement

Strasbourg

plenary session

JIMENEZ GARCIA-HERRERA, Trinidad (ES)

organ donation and transplantation (T)

Organ donation and transplantation: statement by Trinidad JIMENEZ, Spanish Health Minister

SOUDNBITE (in Spanish) Trinidad JIMENEZ, Spanish Health Minister: explaining that Spain has been working for over 30 years on a model based on the work of a national authority of coordination. This authority controls and supervises donation and transplantation processes as well as the training of professionals. The Spanish one is therefore a consolidated one, based on two fundamental principles: altruism and solidarity. Through all these years many professionals have trained and are responsible for communicating to the families of the donors and have succeed in increasing the figures of donations in Spain. Spain is the first country in the world as regards donation rates with 34 donations by million of citizens, whereas the EU average is 18 donations per million. This model insists on the fact that donation must always be voluntary and unpaid and that the decision of donate affects many lives.

SOUDNBITE (in Spanish) Trinidad JIMENEZ, Spanish Health Minister: on the fact that this directive establishes the start of a new European coordination on this matter. There exist some cooperation agreements between member states in order to obtain the needed organs in each country and that we couldn't found, especially in pediatrics donations. But the methodology and standard were different for each country; what we want to put in place now is to set common standard rules for control, quality and safety... This will facilitate the development of a European system of transplantations and gives more security to it.