Donors

Tissue Bank

Tissue Bank

Say yes to life and become a tissue donor

A total of 5,000 tissue transplants take place in Catalonia every year.

Thanks to donated tissue, many people are able to walk again, to see, to hear... to live!

WHAT IS TISSUE DONATION?

Tissues are structures with a specific role, formed by a group of similar cells, such as corneas, valves, bones and skin.

Donating tissue and/or organs is the most altruistic thing a person can do after their death. Donation provides healthy tissue for transplantation into the people who need it.

WHY BECOME A DONOR?

What is tissue used for?

Some diseases damage tissue and stop it from working. In most cases, there are no drugs to cure them and a transplant is the only option available to repair them.

For example, a cornea donation is needed by those who lose their sight in an accident or due to an illness. A bone transplant is necessary in youngsters who have had cancer or malformations of the spinal column. Or heart valves are needed for babies born with heart problems who would otherwise be unable to survive. In all these and many other cases, a transplant of donated tissue is required.

HOW CAN YOU BECOME A DONOR?

Everyone can be a donor. You should express this wish to your closest relatives during your life, so that they can inform the doctors of your wishes. If you want, you can get the donor card from the website of the Catalan Transplant Organisation.

How is tissue donated?

The Banc de Sang i Teixits Donor Center coordinates tissue donation in Catalonia. If necessary, they talk to the family of the potential donor and activate the donation teams.

Tissue can be donated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. All that is required is for the doctor or nurses to be notified. They will contact the Donor Center team, which will coordinate the assessment and collection of the tissue.

Before the donation process is started, the medical history of the potential donor is examined to ensure their tissue is suitable for transplanting.

Complete respect for the donor is ensured at all times. Donation does not affect their appearance and the funeral process can continue normally and without delay.

The tissue is sent to the Tissue Bank, where it is processed, transformed and prepared according to the needs of the recipient patients.

You can read the stories of people whose lives have been changed thanks to tissue donation in the blog moltesgracies.net.

In Catalonia, the Catalan Transplant Organisation (OCATT) is responsible for organ and tissue donation. For more information, please call 93 339 83 03 or visit the website trasplantaments.gencat.cat.