Record number of organ transplants carried out in Ireland last year

A record number of organ transplants were carried out in Ireland last year, according to the Irish Kidney Association.

311 transplants from 150 donors were carried out in 2017, improving on the previous record of 127 organ donors in 2016.

A total of 192 kidney transplants were carried out at the National Renal Transplant Service in Beaumont Hospital, while 62 liver transplants and 5 pancreas transplants were performed at the National Liver Transplant Service at St Vincent’s University Hospital.

36 lung transplants and 16 heart transplants were performed at the National Heart and Lung Transplant Service at the Mater Hospital.

Organ Donor Awareness Week was launched today at the Mansion House in Dublin and takes place from the 31st March to the 7th of April.

This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Irish Kidney Association, and they are encouraging people to get donor cards and discuss their wishes with their families.

We are officially launching Organ Donor Awareness Week later today in the Mansion house in Dublin. You can request your Organ Donor Card via the link below. Please remember to share your wishes with family. #OrganDonationWorks... https://t.co/cXz5zU9vUM

— Irish Kidney Association (@IrishKidneyAs) March 27, 2018

Minister of State for Health Promotion, Catherine Byrne TD said at the launch: "I am committed to building on the continued success we are seeing in the area of organ donation and transplantation, and I want to ensure that Ireland ranks among the most successful countries in terms of the number of people who donate their organs, the number of transplants that arise from these generous donations and the subsequent quality of life of organ recipients."

‘’It's intended to bring draft Heads of a Human Tissue Bill to Government in May. One aim of the legislation is to make organ donation the norm in Ireland in situations where the opportunity arises, and so the legislation proposes to change the current system to one of soft opt-out consent," she said.

The Minister added: "The introduction of an opt-out system of consent will be accompanied by a publicity campaign and we hope this will encourage people to discuss organ donation with their loved ones. If your next-of-kin knows that your wish is to become a donor, it will make the their decision to allow donation much easier. It will also give relations and loved ones the satisfaction of knowing the wishes of the person were fulfilled."

Over 500 people are on the waiting list for organ transplants in Ireland.

- Digital Desk