Christian Lawyers has been spreading on its social networks alleged figures that would be paid to health personnel “for organs removed for transplants” from patients “pushed to euthanasia”. The ultra-Catholic association is against the right recognized by law to end life in the event of irreversible suffering.
The Minister of Health, Mónica García, has already announced that her team “will study legal actions” against the organization for the attack on the transplant system, professionals and health care, according to a message published on the social network the data on the cost of a transplant and they used it to lie, “he said. number twoJavier Padilla.
The law establishes that organ donation in Spain is voluntary, altruistic, free and non-profit. “No compensation may be received for the donation of human organs by the donor, nor by any other natural or legal person,” it states. the royal decree approved in 2012 which regulates activities related to transplants.
The National Transplant Organization has a specific protocol to “completely dissociate” euthanasia “from any decision related to organ donation,” a spokesperson responds to questions from elDiario.es, which links the publication to the opposing position of Christian lawyers on euthanasia. “Our mission as the National Transplant System is to guarantee that anyone who wishes to be a donor when they die in these circumstances can do so and thus comply with their wishes,” he adds.
The ONT explains that carrying out the procedures has a cost for the system, like any other intervention. In a complete process of explantation (removal of the organ), movement and transplantation (insertion of the organ), up to 100 people can be involved and the surgical interventions are complex and can last several hours. The costs are set and borne by the autonomous communities, for the most part, because they have transferred responsibilities for health, although there is a small annual allocation from the ONT to hospitals. “For a hospital that transplants a lot, this does not exceed 50,000 euros,” the organization explains.
Spain has led the world ranking in organ transplants for more than 30 years. The year 2023 marked a new record number with 5,861 interventions. The operation to make it possible is complex and expensive, but, in addition to saving lives, it is more sustainable for the health system, according to the ONT: “Thanks to all the kidney transplants performed each year in Spain and the savings generated by dialysis, the health system saves twice the cost of all donation and transplantation procedures for all types of organs. Five years of treatment for a kidney transplant patient represents a saving for the system for each patient of 160,000 euros compared to hemodialysis and 90,000 if compared to peritoneal dialysis, the organization estimates.
