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[SITUATION] · [QUIET] · [HEALTH]

2 clusters · 4 sources · 5 days · First seen 14 days ago · Last updated 9 days ago

Organ donation trends in the Netherlands

Overview

In the Netherlands, organ donation rates have seen a steady increase following the 2020 implementation of an automatic ‘no objection’ registration system. Under the previous opt-in model, annual donors fluctuated around 250, but numbers have since risen toward 300 per year, reaching a peak of 360 in 2024.

Research from the Dutch Transplantation Foundation and Maastricht UMC+ indicates that while growth is relatively modest, several factors contribute to the trend. These include improved technical capabilities for utilizing organs after death and an increase in donations occurring after euthanasia, which rose from 11 instances in 2020 to 34 in 2025.

Despite the policy shift, relatives still choose to decline donation in more than half of the cases involving automatic registration. Currently, approximately one-third of Dutch adults have explicitly registered as donors, 31 percent have explicitly opted out, and 25 percent are registered under the ‘no objection’ status.

Entities

Pia Löwhagen Hendén · Regionalt Donationscentrum Väst · Anna Forsberg · Dutch Transplantation Foundation · Netherlands

Timeline

9 days ago

[HEALTH] 2 sources
Netherlands organ donations increase under new registration system
Organ donations in the Netherlands have risen since the 2020 introduction of an automatic registration system, reaching a peak of 360 in 2024, though growth remains modest.
14 days ago

[HEALTH] 2 sources
Sweden seeks to increase organ donation rates through new approaches
New strategies in Sweden aim to increase organ donation by addressing psychological barriers and registration convenience, potentially adding 80 donors per year.

Sources

albrandswaardsdagblad.nl · bors-nliv.svd.se · dagblad010.nl · family.se