Organ donor numbers top 100
The number of organ donors in Switzerland exceeded the 100 mark in 2009 for the first time in ten years, but more are urgently needed.
A total of 103 people last year donated 491 organs for transplant operations. But in the same year mortality among those on the waiting list for organs rose by eight per cent, according to Swisstransplant, a foundation that promotes organ donations and transplants.
During the year 67 people died while waiting for organs. Another 996 people are in urgent need of organ donations.
Swisstransplant has set a goal of gaining 20 donors per million residents. Between 2007 and 2009 organ donor numbers grew by 30 per cent.
The most common organ transplants in Switzerland are for kidneys, accounting for nearly two out of three transplants. That is followed by operations for livers, hearts and lungs.
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