The number of people in Switzerland waiting for a heart, lung, liver or kidney transplant continued to increase last year despite a spurt in donations.
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Swisstransplant, a foundation that promotes organ donations and transplants said on Friday that 1,029 people were on the waiting list at the beginning of January 2011 – up three per cent on the previous year.
The organisation also announced that the number of people who received an organ went from 466 to 504 last year.
In total 214 donors, notably younger people, made organ contributions, but it was not enough to cover demand. Fifty-nine patients died before they could benefit from a transplant.
Swisstransplant president Franz Immer said improved coordination among regions in Switzerland led to an increased donor rate over the past five years. He added cooperation with other countries remained key.
Switzerland has a low organ donation rate compared with neighbouring European countries: Less than 13 people per one million residents, according to official data.
Immer said under current rules a person’s organs can only be harvested after death if consent was given beforehand. But there is no age limit on who can be a donor.
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Pictures from the medical history archives at Zurich University, show what it was like to study medicine in the old days. They were displayed as part of the university’s 175th anniversary celebrations in 2008. (All photos from the medical history archive).
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