Decrease in organ donation & transplantation in 2014
2014 has been described as a disappointing year for organ doantion and transplantation in Ireland after a record year in 2013. There were 251 transplants in 2014 compared with 294 in 2013.
These are the preliminary figures issued by ODTI, the office of the HSE responsible for organ donation and transplantation in Ireland:
63 deceased donors : 40 live kidney donors : 112 kidney transplants : 18 heart transplants : 31 lung transplants
44 liver transplants : 6 pancreas transplants :
650 people on transplant waiting list
In the 2013 annual report of the ODTI issued in May 2014, the business plan for 2014 stated the following as the aim of the newly formed office of the HSE responsible for organ donation and transplantation in Ireland:
| Transplant Activity | Work plan 2014 |
| Deceased renal transplant | 150 |
| Living kidney donor transplant | 50 |
| Liver transplant | 60 |
| Lung transplant | 30 |
| Heart transplant | 15 |
| Pancreas transplant | 11 |
Speaking on release of the preliminary figures for 2014 at the beginning of this year, the head of the ODTI, Professor Jim Egan said: "Public awareness of organ donation is extremely important". We have to continue to try and make the public aware of the large number of people awaiting organs,” he said, adding that 650 Irish families are currently waiting for life-saving transplant treatment.
Prof Egan also announced five new organ donation co-ordinators were starting across the country this month followed by six specialist nurses and intensive care doctors in the spring. "These organ donor specialists will support family and local staff when
dealing with the difficult circumstances surrounding death and organ
donation", said Prof Egan.
Prof Egan says the HSE should look internationally to countries like Spain for advice on the type of infrastructure need to improve organ donation levels.“The key component of the Spanish system is specialist doctors and nurses involved in organ donation throughout the healthcare system, and other countries like the UK and Australia have replicated that and invested in that area.”
Spain is the top European country for deceased organ donors where there are 35 donors per million of the population. Ireland comes 14th in Europe with 18 donors per million.
Prof Egan hopes the upcoming specialist donor recruits in 2015 will play an important role in relaying the benefits of organ donation to the public, and he also asked that people discuss their wishes with their family.
Mr. Mark Murphy, Chief Executive of the Irish Kidney Associaton expressed the concern of the IKA at the decrease of organ donation and transplantation in Ireland. Read his statement on:
