Government misses organ donation target

Organs from 158 dead people were transplanted into 440 patients last year. After a dip in 2016, the positive trend of 2015 and 2017 continued but not enough to hit government targets, the Federal Office of Public Health said on Thursday. 

The donor rate per million inhabitants has increased from 13.7 in 2013 to 18.6. The government had been aiming for 20 per million by the end of 2018. 

The number of people on a waiting list sank slightly compared with the previous year. At the end of 2017, 1,478 people were waiting for an organ; at the end of 2018, the figure was 1,412. 

The government said that thanks to the first campaign, “More Organs for Transplants”, hospitals were now better equipped for transplants and had more specialist and better-trained staff. 

The donor campaign of the government and cantons will be extended until 2021, with certain measures being adapted. The aim is to increase the donor rate to 22 per million inhabitants by 2021.