Six patients receive a new chance after family authorizes organ donation

A family's decision during a time of grief gave six patients a new chance after doctors transplanted organs and tissues from a deceased relative in northern Peru.

The procedure marked EsSalud's 30th organ-donation and transplant operation of the year. Medical teams, hospitals and specialized procurement units coordinated the process so the organs could reach their recipients in time.

Gladys Carlos, deputy head of transplantation at EsSalud's Procurement and Transplant Management office, said the operations require an immediate response. "Every operation demands an immediate response. From the Operations Center for Procurement, we coordinate with health teams, healthcare facilities and procurement and transplant units so that not a minute is lost, because the success of the transplant depends on it," she said.

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Every operation demands an immediate response. From the Operations Center for Procurement, we coordinate with health teams, healthcare facilities and procurement and transplant units so that not a minute is lost, because the success of the transplant depends on it.

The donation included a heart, an organ that is donated less often because its recovery and transplantation require strict conditions. The donor must have died from brain death, the organ must remain suitable, and a compatible recipient must be ready within hours. Patients at the greatest risk can receive a zero-urgency classification, the highest medical priority when their lives are in danger.

EsSalud reported 248 transplants so far in 2026. Guillermo Alva, the institution's acting general manager, credited the donor family and the medical teams. He also highlighted logistical support from Peru's Defense and Interior ministries, which helped move the organs quickly and safely.

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We owe this achievement first and foremost to the donor family, who, in a moment of profound pain, thought about the lives of other people.