Currently, there are 80 people on the waiting list in Estonia who need organ transplants. In our small country, an average of 50–70 transplants are performed annually. The number of transplants depends on how many suitable donors are available at any given time.
Virge Pall, head of the Transplantation Center at the University of Tartu, said that the shortage of donors is a persistent problem. "There are never enough donors. There are always more people waiting for organs than there are donors," she said.
People of very different ages need transplants—from children to the elderly. The reasons are also varied. For example, people need kidney transplants due to nephritis or diabetes.
In Estonia, one can become a donor both after death and during their lifetime. During their lifetime, only a kidney can be donated to a close relative.
Although every adult can submit a declaration of intent on the health portal, only a small portion of the population has done so. As of last night, there were 58,000 declarations on the health portal. This is about 5.5 percent of the adult population.
According to Pall, there is still a fear that registering as a donor may affect the quality of medical care. "That is a myth," said Pall. "Doctors treat patients first and look at the declaration of intent only if saving the person's life is unsuccessful."
Since 2017, Estonia has also been part of the international cooperation network Scandia Transplant. This helps patients who need urgent transplants.
Virge Pall said that donating is very important. "When a person's life has ended, they can still do good for someone else. Their organs can offer many more years of life to someone else."