Fewer organ transplants in 2025 but number set to go up

Fewer patients received donor organs in 2025 than in 2024, but the number is set to increase in the longer term, Dutch transplant association NTS has said.

According to the figures for last year, doctors carried out 1,480 transplants compared to 1,588 in 2024.

Two-thirds of the organs were donated by 380 people when they died, including 536 kidneys, 118 lungs, 30 pancreases, and one small intestine. Some 531 organs came from living donors, with 498 getting a new kidney compared to 487 in 2024.

Some 1,600 people remained on the waiting list at the end of 2025. Some 133 people died while on the list, while 137 no longer qualified because their state of health had deteriorated too much.

The NTS said the government policy of organ donation by default, which means people who do not register their preference are classified as potential donors, is helping future organ availability.

Waiting times have come down, from 29 to 26 months for a new kidney and 24 to 14 months for a new heart.

More people are likely to get an organ or tissue transplant and that is great news, NTS director Naomi Nathan told RTL Nieuws. “Doctors, nurses and other partners in the organ and tissue transplant chain have worked hard to achieve this result. We are also deeply grateful to the donors and their families,” she said.

The tissue donations from a Dutch tissue bank to help the victims of the disastrous fire at a bar at ski resort Crans-Montana on New Year’s Eve have shown how important donations are, she said.