Today in Europe, more than 50,000 people are on waiting lists for an organ transplant, revealed Minister of Health Lydia Mutsch yesterday as she revealed a new phone application in favour of organ donation at the 7th Marathon Indoor Cycling event.
The Minister spoke of the great shortage of organs which results in 12 people dying every day due to a lack of an available organ, and others often spending several years waiting. Many people in the Grand Duchy sufefr from diseases for which there are still no effective treaments to cure them. At the terminal stage, vital organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas or intestines become affected, necessitating the transplant of a healthy organ.
According to statistics reported by Eurotransplant, the organisation which manages organ donations and transplants in Europe, 14,928 people were registered on various transplant waiting lists in 2014, with only 7,194 receiving transplants.
"In Luxembourg as elsewhere, the number of organs available is insufficient to meet the need of patients waiting for an organ transplant," explained Lydia Mutsch. 37 organ explantations were carried out between 2008 and 2014, but there are around 65 patients on the waiting list for a transplant in Luxembourg every year. Around a third of these patients are grafted per year, but each year a growing number of people die due to not receiving a transplant on time.
Although a large part of the Luxembourg population is in favour of organ donation, only a minority of people carry an organ donor card on them, despite legislation in the Grand Duchy which is based on presumed consent.
"The voluntary registration on the small organ donor card entitled 'passport of life' will facilitate the work of the medical and nursing teams, knowing that the sampling procedure and organ transplantation is a delicate operation and often a race against time," continued the Minister.
To support the personal decision on this important subject, the Ministry of Health has introduced a new application for smartphones, developed with the support of Post Luxembourg. The application, named 'Passeport de Vie' ('Passport of Life') will allow individuals to input their decision to become an organ donor in a few clicks, and subsequently always retain their card on themselves. The application will also present the opportunity to inform relatives in complete confidence or share their decision on social networks in order to encourage family and friends to follow their lead. The applications 'Passeport de Vie' is available on iPhone and Android.
Ahead of taking the decision, members of the public can learn about organ donation through a pamphlet on the subject, available to order by calling the Directorate of Health on 247-855-69 or on the website www.dondorganes.lu.
Photo by Ministry of Health (L-R: Organ recipients Jérôme and Cara; Dr Claude Braun, President of Luxembourg Transplant; Lydia Mutsch, Minister of Health)
