Castilla‑La Mancha ECMO mobile program boosts organ donation by 45%

The regional government of Castilla‑La Mancha launched a mobile ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) programme in December 2022 to extend controlled‑asystole organ donation to hospitals lacking the technology. The initiative deploys specialised teams of transplant coordinators, intensive‑care physicians and trained nurses to seven hospitals, with the University Hospital of Toledo and the Albacete University Hospital serving as reference centres.

A scientific report on the programme documented 122 controlled‑asystole donation procedures between its start and the end of 2025, of which 38 were performed using the mobile ECMO system. The study concluded the programme increased the region’s donation potential by 45%, helping Castilla‑La Mancha record 89 donors in 2025 – a rate of 42.2 donors per million inhabitants, among the highest in Spain. The work was awarded the best poster at the XL Congress of Transplant Coordinators, highlighting its contribution to transplant outcomes and regional health services.