The Irish Donor Network today appealed for the general public to carry an organ donor card.
Ireland ranks fifth in Europe in terms of the number of people carrying organ donor cards, it was revealed today, but it is lagging other countries in numbers of living donors for people needing transplants.
Today is the first World Day and seventh European Day for Organ Donation and Transplantation. The event is organised by the Council of Europe in association with the World Health Organisation.
In Ireland, there have been ten heart transplant operations, 41 liver transplants and 92 kidney transplants so far this year. The Mater Hospital has also performed its first three lung transplant operations. Six Irish people had lung transplants in the United Kingdom last year.
There are 1,313 people on kidney dialysis in Ireland, with 1,095 of these receiving dialysis at home and 218 on home dialysis. There are 405 people are on the kidney transplant waiting list and 1566 people who have had a working kidney transplant.
Last year, there were 147 kidney transplants, a slight rise on the previous year. A record number of liver transplants took place in 2004 with 45 being recorded as compared with 32 in 2003.
However, less heart transplants took place in 2004 than in the previous year with a decline from 15 heart transplants in 2003 to just seven in 2004.
The average waiting time for a kidney transplant in Ireland is two years. Those needing a liver transplant wait on average under a year.