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Venezuela · ONTV · MPPS · System in crisis
Donating in Venezuela
Venezuela's public transplant system has been effectively paralyzed for nearly a decade. The Servicio de Procurement de Órganos y Tejidos (SPOT) was suspended, and deceased-donor transplants have virtually stopped. Today, living donation is the only viable pathway for thousands of patients
Approximately 7,000 people depend on dialysis. An estimated 1,300 transplants were lost during the years the system stopped functioning. The Organización Nacional de Trasplantes de Venezuela (ONTV) continues operating as civil society
Key figures for Venezuela
On dialysis
~7,000
people with chronic kidney disease awaiting renal replacement therapy
Lost transplants
~1,300
transplants that did not happen during the years the system was paralyzed
Paralyzed
~9 years
deceased-donor transplant program effectively suspended
Source: ONTV Venezuela · medical press · patient associations
The system crisis
SPOT suspended: what happened
The collapse of deceased donation
The Servicio de Procurement de Órganos y Tejidos (SPOT), once the backbone of Venezuela's deceased-donor procurement system, was suspended. Without a functioning national procurement coordinator, hospitals could no longer identify, refer, or manage deceased donors. Brain-death certification, family interview protocols, and organ logistics all ground to a halt.
The Organización Nacional de Trasplantes de Venezuela (ONTV) — historically a government-linked entity — continues to operate, but largely as civil society. Its role has shifted toward patient advocacy, international coordination, and maintaining the waiting-list records that still exist. The Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Salud (MPPS) retains formal authority, but infrastructure shortages, emigration of specialists, and lack of supplies have made large-scale deceased-donor transplantation practically impossible.
Consequences for patients
- 1
Approximately 7,000 Venezuelans depend on dialysis, many with inconsistent access due to supply shortages
- 2
An estimated 1,300 transplants were lost — patients who would have received an organ under a functioning system
- 3
Many patients and families have emigrated seeking transplant options in Colombia, Peru, or elsewhere in the region
- 4
The few transplant programs still active operate almost exclusively with living donors
The only current option
Living donation in Venezuela
With deceased-donor transplantation effectively suspended, living kidney donation has become the primary — and often only — pathway to transplant for Venezuelan patients. A handful of hospitals maintain active living-donor programs
How living donation works
- Donor must be a relative (up to 4th degree of consanguinity) or spouse / permanent partner
- Non-related donors require additional legal authorization
- Comprehensive medical, psychological, and social evaluation required
- Any commercial exchange of organs is strictly prohibited
Challenges patients face
- Limited number of hospitals with active transplant capacity
- Shortages of immunosuppressant medications and surgical supplies
- Emigration of nephrologists, surgeons, and transplant coordinators
- ONTV provides guidance and advocacy despite operating constraints
Hospitals with transplant programs
Centers that historically maintained or continue to operate transplant programs in Venezuela
Hospital Universitario de Caracas (HUC)
Caracas · Venezuela's main public university hospital; historically the largest kidney transplant program in the country
Clínicas Caracas
Caracas · Private hospital group with an established kidney and liver transplant program
IOT — Instituto de Traumatología y Ortopedia / Sanatorio Integral
Caracas · Tissue and bone transplantation; part of the national transplant network infrastructure
A patient's story
Juliana Mena: waiting for the system to return
"I have been on dialysis for years. Every day I wonder if my turn will come. There were times when I thought the transplant system would never come back, and I just had to survive" — Juliana Mena, kidney patient in Venezuela
Juliana Mena's story reflects the reality of thousands of Venezuelans with chronic kidney disease: years on dialysis, a transplant system that stopped functioning, and the constant hope that either living donation becomes possible for them or the national system recovers. For many, the only option has been to seek treatment abroad or rely on a family member willing and able to donate a kidney
Talk to your family
In Venezuela, living donation depends on families. Talk to your loved ones about donation. If someone close to you needs a kidney, the conversation could save their life. You can also read the stories of people who have walked this path
Verified sources
This page summarizes publicly available information about the transplant situation in Venezuela. Medical and legal decisions are yours and your healthcare team's