Organ donation

SPAIN continues to lead global organ donation figures which has helped Spain nearly recover its pre ­ pandemic transplant figures. The country recorded a 13 per cent increase in transplants completed during the last year in figures released on Thursday, January 19. The country has one of the highest organ donor figures in the world with 46.3 donors per million residents, well above the European average of 19.3.

After more than a year of pandemic disruption, organ transplants got back on track in 2022, growing by 13 per cent to 5,383 operations coming close to 2019 figures of 5,449. Approximately 15 transplants were carried out every day in the country. Spain also has an excellent bone marrow register with nearly 500,000 donors available.

Announcing the figures, Minister for Health, Carolina Darias said, “These figures represent a success that is shared by all of society and health professionals and place us in a position of excellence worldwide.”

BARCELONA has now joined AstraZeneca’s ‘Inspiring Cities’ project to raise awareness of the importance of air quality in cities.

On Thursday, January 19, AstraZeneca and Barcelona City Council announced that the city will join the ‘Cities that Inspire’ platform. It is a collaborative initiative that seeks to raise awareness of the importance of air quality in respiratory health.

With this project, the pharmaceutical company, together with leading scientific societies and respiratory patient associations, aims to inspire the development of municipal initiatives to improve air quality.

Barcelona City Council has signed the contract to build a healthy future for all.

This collaborative initiative is part of the 2030 Agenda’s drive for the city and seeks to raise awareness among municipalities, health professionals and the general public about the problem of air quality and its influence on people’s health and quality of life.

The higher the Air Quality Index (AQI) value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern.