2022 Annual Figures: highest number of organ donors in a single year

In 2022, there were more organ donors after death in the Netherlands than ever before. This brings the numbers at the end of 2022 back to pre-Covid-19 levels, following two years in which the coronavirus pandemic had a major impact on the number of organ and tissue donations.

Some categories of organs were transplanted significantly more often. Moreover, innovations ensured that more organs per donor could be made suitable for transplantation. For a number of organs (liver, lung, heart, and pancreas), this has resulted in a shorter waiting list.

Some categories of organs were transplanted significantly more often. Moreover, innovations ensured that more organs per donor could be made suitable for transplantation. For a number of organs (liver, lung, heart, and pancreas), this has resulted in a shorter waiting list.

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, there was a significant decline in the number of organ donations and transplants. In 2021, the number of procedures partially recovered, and last year the number of organ transplants increased further. The number of post-mortem organ donors is the highest number in a single year ever in the Netherlands. Whether this is a result of the new donor law cannot be said with certainty at this moment. At the end of 2023, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport will start an evaluation of the donor law.

Donation and innovation

Bernadette Haase, Director of NTS: “We have great appreciation for the choice of donors and their next of kin to donate. Because of this, so many life-saving transplants can be performed. It is wonderful to see that, thanks to innovations, we are increasingly better able to improve the quality of organs for transplantation. As a result, we have been able to help even more patients.”

Organ transplants

A total of 1,402 organ transplants (from both post-mortem and living donors) were performed. The number of organ transplants with organs from post-mortem donors was 13% higher in 2022 (860) than in the year before (758). The number of post-mortem donors, at 285, is the highest number in a single year ever.

The number of transplants with organs from living donors (kidney and liver) increased by 12% (542 in 2022 compared to 482 in 2021).

Increase and decrease in waiting lists for organs

For a number of organs, the high number of transplants has led to a shorter waiting list. The number of transplantable patients on the waiting list for a new liver (-46%), lung (-23%), heart (-9%), and pancreas (with or without kidney: -35%) decreased. The waiting list for a new kidney did increase by 5%, despite high transplant figures. This is mainly due to a high influx of new patients. This is also the largest group of waiting patients. In total, 1,247 people are waiting for a new organ in the Netherlands, compared to 1,297 people last year.

Director Haase: “Our goal is always to make waiting times shorter. For everyone on the waiting list, transplantation is of vital importance. A patient on the waiting list lives for a long time in uncertainty about whether an organ will become available in time, and has a more limited quality of life during that period. It is great to see that we succeeded in reducing the waiting lists for a number of organs last year.”

Tissues

The number of tissue donors in 2022 was slightly lower than in 2021 (2,404 in 2022 compared to 2,427 in 2021). However, the number of transplants for some tissues was higher than in 2021. This is possible because tissues can be stored for a longer period in a so-called tissue bank. For example, the number of cornea transplants rose from 1,831 in 2021 to 1,909 in 2022. At the same time, the waiting list for, for example, people waiting for a cornea increased. This increase is due to a higher influx of patients; due to catch-up care, more people were placed on the waiting list for a tissue.