Donor van Ons draws attention to the shortage of donors with a non-Western background

For a successful organ transplant, blood transfusion, or stem cell transplant, the best possible match is essential. Ethnicity plays an important role in this. Certain genetic characteristics, such as blood group antigens and HLA types, occur more frequently within specific population groups. In the Netherlands, there is a major shortage of donors with a non-Western background. As a result, these patients have a lower chance of an optimal match.

For them, this can lead to longer waiting times, extra medication, more complications, and a lower survival rate.

On Monday, March 2, 2026, the national awareness campaign Donor van Ons starts.The Dutch Transplant Foundation, Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, and Matchis Foundation are joining forces for the first time to draw attention to an urgent problem: the importance of shared ethnicity between a donor and a patient.

Increasing urgency

In the Netherlands, 26% of the population has a migration background, 57% of which is non-Western. This share is expected to grow to 40% by 2060. At the same time, Dutch people with a non-Western background are underrepresented in blood, stem cell, and organ donor registries. If the donor supply does not keep pace with society, health disparities will continue to increase.

Awareness increases willingness

Scientific research among Dutch people of Moroccan and Surinamese descent, two of the largest non-Western groups in the Netherlands, shows that the willingness to become a donor increases when there is more knowledge about the importance of ethnicity in matching, the shortages in donor registries, and what donation concretely entails. The campaign therefore focuses on increasing knowledge and awareness among non-Western Dutch people.

Watch the campaign film

With the campaign Donor van Ons, we are drawing attention to the importance of diversity in donor registries. Watch the campaign film below and read more here.