More than half the population still have to register their organ donation wishes

Over half the population of the Netherlands have not yet officially stated whether or not they want to be an organ donor after their death, the AD said on Monday.

In total, 6.7 million adults, or 44% of the over-18s, have registered their choice. Of them, 3.8 million have no objections, 2.1 million don’t want to be a donor and 750,000 are leaving the decision up to families.

Since early 2018, when new legislation came into force, 500,000 people have signed up, the paper said.

The new rules mean that from next summer, everyone who has not registered their wishes will automatically be considered a donor.

The health ministry is launching a new campaign in an effort to make more people aware of the new rules and to get them to register.

Women are more likely than men to have registered their wishes and are also slightly more likely to agree to donate their organs, the AD said.