More than 1,500 Belgians wait for an organ donation

Belgian law considers by default every citizen as a potential donor, unless there is an objection expressed. In 2022, 26,339 people in Belgium explicitly indicated that they wanted to donate their organs and 8,770 people expressed their objection.

Last year, some 918 organ transplants were performed in Belgium and there are now 1,504 recipient candidates on a waiting list. According to the Belgian magazine De Zondag, those who need a new kidney make up the largest group in that list.

As of January 1, 1,152 people were waiting for kidney transplants. “The waiting time for a kidney transplant in our country varies on average between two and a half and three years,” says Luc Colenbie, transplant coordinator at UZ Gent.

The waiting time for a heart transplant in Belgium is one year on average. “As of January 1, 75 people were on the waiting list, the lowest number in 10 years,” says Colenbie.

The transplant coordinator explains this is due in particular to more effective drugs prescribed in the event of heart failure and to the fact that patients in Belgium can count on an artificial heart while waiting for the transplant.

(VIV)

^{An organ transplant ambulance during stormy weather in Brussels, 23 August 2011. ©BELGA PHOTO (DRIES LUYTEN)}