Organ transplants on the rise since 2000
Nearly twice as many organ transplants were carried out in Greece last year compared to 2000, while the number of potential donors has also increased following a public awareness campaign two years ago, according to data published yesterday. Speaking at an Athens awards ceremony for donors’ families, officials from the National Transplant Organization (NTO) said 222 organ transplant operations took place last year, and 119 in 2000. In 2002, 137 of the transplants were taken from dead donors, compared to 96 in 2001 and 44 in 2000. Kidney transplants have almost doubled in the past three years, reaching 192 last year compared to 104 in 2000. Distribution of an organ donor application form during the March 2001 population census helped significantly, NTO said. By the end of 2002, the donor list included 80,906 people, compared to 53,290 by the end of 2000.
