The group of Dutch people who give permission for organ donation after death has grown considerably since 2020. In July of that year, the new donor law came into effect. A year later, on July 1, 2021, 4.8 million people explicitly agreed to donate. That is an increase of almost one million compared to the beginning of 2020. This is apparent from new figures from Statistics Netherlands and the Donor Register.
The number of people who explicitly do not give permission for organ donation also increased during that period, from 2.3 million people to 4.3 million. In addition, another 3.3 million Dutch people did not fill in their own choice. They are therefore registered as ‘no objection to organ donation’. Another 1.5 million Dutch people indicated that relatives may decide on the choice.
More people pass on their choice since the donor law
Since the introduction of the new donor law, more people have passed on their choice, according to Statistics Netherlands. At the beginning of 2020, 49 percent had recorded a choice – a year after the law was introduced, this was 75 percent. That equates to nearly 11 million adults.
Young people in particular have not yet made a choice, reports the statistical office. About 40 percent of young people between the ages of 18 and 20 had not communicated anything by last July. Due to the new Donor Act, this means that they are included in the Donor Register, under the heading ‘no objection’. Under the old donor law, an explicit choice had to be made before someone was included in the register.
Older people more often not than with permission
Statistics Netherlands also reports that people between the ages of 20 and 70 gave consent for organ donation more often than no consent. The situation was different for the group aged 80 and older: they did not give permission twice as often as they did (51 percent against 25 percent).
In July, doctors, the Dutch Transplantation Foundation and the Ministry of Health reported that the increase in registrations had not yet led to more donations. They then suspected that more time was needed to see the effect of the law. The corona pandemic probably also had an impact.
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