Record Number of Organ Transplants in Switzerland, Swisstransplant Reports

More people have also transplanted organs than ever before, as Swisstransplant’s annual report published on Tuesday shows.

A total of 675 people on the waiting list received an urgently needed organ in 2023. In the same period, 225 people were referred to Swisstransplant, the national foundation for organ donation and transplantation, by the person’s families who died to determine whether organs could be donated after death. This number is high if you take into account the rejection rate of 58 percent with survivors, Swisstransplant also said.

200 of them effectively became organ donors. According to Swisstransplant, no organs could be given to 25 people who died in the end. The causes of death of the 200 organ donors were lack of oxygen in 83 cases, cerebral hemorrhage or stroke in 82 cases, traumatic brain injury in 30 cases and another cause in the remaining five cases.

Most relatives are against organ donation
According to Swisstransplant, there are approximately 70,000 deaths per year in Switzerland. Of these, nearly 4,000 people die in hospital in the intensive care unit. In about 700 cases there is a discussion with relatives about the question of organ donation – in more than 2000 cases with the question of cornea donation.

The extended consent solution currently applies to organ donations in Switzerland. If the person being considered as a donor or their relatives does not specifically agree to organ donation, the organs cannot be donated if they die. According to Swisstransplant, if the wishes of the deceased are not known, most relatives currently decide against organ donation.

An extended complaint resolution is expected in 2026
In the future, anyone who does not wish to donate organs and tissues after death must register this. On May 15, 2022, the voters – with 60.2 percent of the vote – said yes to the proposal from the Federal Council and the Parliament that the extended complaint solution should now apply. It is expected to come into force in 2026. The new organ donation register, which is necessary to change the system, should also be available then.

The extended complaint solution assumes that if the deceased has not made a decision, they would agree to organ donation. In the future, usually everyone will be considered a donor. However, relatives may object to organ removal if they know that the deceased did not wish to donate their organs. In most European countries today the contradiction solution applies.