Registered organ donors in the Netherlands reach 8.2 million
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The number of adults registered as organ donors in the Netherlands increased by more than 90,000 in a single year, reaching 8.2 million by the start of 2026.
Statistics Netherlands reported that this growth came entirely from people who did not actively choose a preference. The Dutch Organ Donation Act, which began in 2020, automatically registers adults as donors from the age of 18 if they do not record a choice in the Donor Register.
While the number of people who explicitly give permission to donate has declined recently, more people are choosing not to donate at all. Among children aged 12 to 18, 5,000 have registered, with 3,600 choosing not to donate and over 1,000 granting permission. The Dutch Transplant Foundation noted that these higher registration numbers have not led to a large increase in actual donations.
Research by the Dutch Transplant Foundation and Maastricht UMC+ found that relatives refuse donation in more than half of all cases, even when a person is registered as a donor. A spokesperson for the Dutch Transplant Foundation said that 81 percent of people in the country know about the automatic registration system.
