Portugal's organ transplant program achieved record numbers in 2025, with 948 total transplants performed across the country. However, the milestone masks a persistent challenge: thousands of patients remain on waiting lists despite the country's status as one of Europe's top performers in transplant medicine.
Why This Matters
• Record surgeries: 70 heart and 90 lung transplants performed in 2025—the highest numbers ever recorded in Portugal.
• Supply gap persists: 1,800–1,900 kidney patients remain on waiting lists despite 525 kidney transplants performed last year.
• Access burden: Transplant recipients must travel long distances for routine check-ups due to lack of regional follow-up centers.
The Numbers Behind Portugal's Transplant Milestone
The Portuguese Transplantation Society (SPT) confirmed that surgeons completed 948 organ transplants in 2025. Kidney transplants dominated the surgical activity, accounting for 525 procedures. Of these, 88 came from living donors, setting a national record for living-donor kidney transplantation. The remainder came from 370 deceased donors.
Cristina Jorge, president of the SPT, characterized 2025 as a strong year for both surgical volume and organ procurement. The success reflects coordination among the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), the Portuguese Air Force, and security forces that transport organs under time-critical conditions.
What This Means for Patients on Waiting Lists
Despite the record transplant numbers, organ scarcity remains the primary bottleneck. Kidney patients face the longest waits, with the national queue fluctuating between 1,800 and 1,900 individuals. Even with more than 500 kidney transplants annually, the system cannot keep pace with new diagnoses and deteriorating cases.
Patients waiting for hearts and lungs face a similar predicament. The 70 cardiac and 90 pulmonary transplants represent progress but still fall short of covering everyone who could benefit from the procedures.
The Burden of Centralized Follow-Up Care
Transplant recipients in Portugal face a logistical challenge that extends long after they leave the operating room: mandatory follow-up at the original transplant center. Patients living in peripheral regions must travel to Lisbon, Porto, or Coimbra—sometimes hundreds of kilometers—for routine blood work or imaging that could theoretically be performed locally.
Cristina Jorge has repeatedly called for decentralization of post-transplant monitoring, arguing that regional hospitals and even private clinics should handle standard surveillance protocols. Training peripheral hospital staff to manage immunosuppression monitoring and rejection screenings would free patients from exhausting travel schedules while reducing congestion at transplant hubs.
The challenge lies in the complexity of transplant medicine. Recipients require lifelong immunosuppression, making them vulnerable to infections, cancer, and metabolic complications. Local physicians must understand drug interactions, recognize subtle signs of organ rejection, and coordinate rapidly with transplant specialists when complications arise. Establishing this expertise at smaller facilities requires significant training and investment.
Moving Forward
Portugal's transplant achievements in 2025 demonstrate the strength of a coordinated national program. The country operates under an opt-out donation system, where all citizens are presumed donors unless they explicitly register otherwise—a policy that simplifies procurement logistics.
For the 1,800 kidney patients and hundreds of others awaiting hearts, lungs, and livers, record transplant numbers offer encouragement. The system's ability to sustain donation rates, improve organ preservation, and expand regional follow-up care will determine whether Portugal can maintain its position among Europe's leading transplant programs while finally meeting domestic demand.
