Rise in transplant operations as more families donate

THE number of life-saving kidney, heart, pancreas and liver transplants during the first nine months of the year is already higher than the total rate for 2010.

Figures revealed before the European Day for Organ Donation and Transplantation, which takes place tomorrow, show a growing number of families are signing up to provide the vital help to hundreds of seriously ill patients.

Between January and the end of September there were 137 kidney transplants from 77 deceased donors, and a further 24 from living donors.

This is significantly higher than the 2010 full-year figures of 98 deceased donor transplants and 20 from living donors, a growth the Irish Kidney Association said is helping to address a shortage last year.

However, despite the rise in rates, Ireland has the fourth-worst waiting list level for kidney transplants in the EU, with 564 people being told they cannot yet receive the treatment.

In addition to the kidney figures, 49 liver transplants took place at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin during the first nine months of the year, up from 39 for all of 2010.

Four heart transplants also occurred at the Mater — up from three last year — and six pancreas transplants took place at Beaumont Hospital, five of which at the same time as kidney procedures.

Kidney association chief executive, Mark Murphy, said: “2010 was a year when Ireland didn’t progress in almost all areas of transplantation.

“However, it’s important to stress that the ground lost in 2010 should be completely recovered by the end of this year.

“In 2006, Ireland was in sixth place for deceased organ donation and was in 10th place in 2009, but we fell to 22nd place last year because of a drop in deceased donations of over one third from 90 to 58.”

A fun run in aid of the Irish Kidney Association takes place at noon on Sunday in Park West, Dublin 12, as part of the European Day for Organ Donation and Transplantation. See runforalife.ie.