Spain has been the world leader in organ transplants for 28 consecutive years, and since 2015, the Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca has been the national leader in organ donation. However, the ageing of the population means that the demand for organs for transplantation increases year after year, with donations covering only 10% of the needs.  

To address this problem and make proposals, UCAM has held the 'Transplant Conference' at its HiTech incubator: The Spanish organ donation and transplant system', which showed the current situation of the National Transplant Organisation model (recognised and copied in other countries around the world). It also looked at the state it is in in the Region of Murcia and the different lines of research in which the Universidad Católica is working to improve the health of organs and tissues avoiding the need for transplants, as well as in the generation of human organs in higher animals suitable for transplants. In this sense, the studies on partial cellular reprogramming to repair organs and tissues led by the extraordinary professor of Developmental Biology at UCAM, Dr. Juan Carlos Izpisúa, who aims to improve people's quality of life, stand out. 

Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, director of the National Transplant Organisation, who participated as a speaker at the conference, said of this research that "it may revolutionise our field", so that "we will have important answers that will complement transplants in the future and perhaps achieve greater survival in patients". Estrella Núñez, Vice-Rector of Research, and organiser of the conference, said that "for the Universidad Católica, transplant research is one more commitment of our high-tech incubator. We are trying to link the reality of transplants, at national and regional level, with the contribution of the University's research so that the trials we are carrying out with Dr Izpisúa can be transferred to patients in the near future". 

The event was also attended by Ricardo Robles, head of the Regional Transplant Coordination in the Region of Murcia; Josep María Campistol, director of the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona; Jerónimo Lajara, Dean of the UCAM Faculty of Medicine and José Arias, a transplant patient.