Tuesday, February 07, 2012
More than 1,000 people are signing up to the kidney donor transplant list every month — a rate that is contributing to a record number of transplants performed here.
Figures released by Beaumont Hospital in Dublin show 192 people were given a second chance at life in 2011 compared to 127 five years ago.
The figure breaks the next highest ever annual transplant rate of 172, in 2009, and is 70 higher than the 122 level in 2010.
The facility said medical improvements and new techniques are key to this development.
Irish Kidney Association chief executive Dr Mark Murphy said a surge in new donors was also vital.
According to Dr Murphy, since the group launched its free "donor e-card" app last March, 10,000 people have agreed to donate their organs after death.
The situation, he said, was ensuring that the 500 people waiting for kidneys and the 1,750 on dialysis treatment could be hopeful of a long life.
His comments came as Beaumont confirmed that 165 of last year’s donations were from deceased people — 68 higher than in 2010.
A spokesperson for Beaumont, which is the national centre for renal transplant and dialysis, said the number of kidney transplants had been consistently improving over the past decade.
The improvement is also shown by the fact that while between 1991 and 1995 one in four transplants were rejected by the recipient’s body, between 2006 and 2010 this had fallen to one in 10.
A total of 500 people are awaiting kidney transplants in Ireland, waiting an average of 33 months.
However, the Irish Kidney Association has noted that the waiting time criteria only takes the period waiting in the transplant pool into account, not the period before this time.
Ireland’s kidney transplant rate is 38 per 1m people, roughly in line with other European countries. The lowest on the list is Romania at 6.5 transplants per 1m, while the highest is Norway, at 60.5.
* Irish Kidney Association donor cards can be obtained by contacting 1890 543 639, texting "donor" to 50050 or downloading the donor e-card app.
* FOCionnaith.direct@examiner.ie
© Examiner Publications (Cork) Limited, City Quarter, Lapps Quay, Cork. Registered in Ireland: 73385.
