New Approach Could Produce 80 More Organ Donors Each Year

For many people, deciding whether to donate their organs after death is difficult. That hesitation may help explain why only 1.9 million people in Sweden have registered as donors, even though 80% of those registrants support donation.

Pia Löwhagen Hendén, a donation physician at Regionalt Donationscentrum Väst, believes simple inaction often plays a role. She compares registering to exercise: people know it is worthwhile, but find it difficult to get started. Registration can now be completed through the 1177 healthcare service and BankID, she said.

“

It is roughly like not getting around to exercising. You think it is difficult and you are not really sure how to do it. But it is extremely easy now through 1177 and BankID.

Anna Forsberg, a nurse and professor of caring science at Lund University and Skåne University Hospital, points to deeper psychological barriers. People often avoid talking about death, and some fear that doctors will treat the body without sufficient care. Forsberg said several people changed their minds after she explained that the operation is conducted with great respect.

“

It is very much about psychology and our society. We do not want to talk about death.

The number of organ donors fell slightly last year, although it remains high from a 10-year historical perspective. By Aug. 10 this year, 144 people had become donors. Improvements in healthcare also affect the figures, Löwhagen Hendén said, because major brain hemorrhages, traumatic head injuries and cardiac arrests, the most common circumstances leading to donation, are declining as treatment and preventive care improve.

Sweden applies presumed consent. Unless a person has registered an objection or explicitly told relatives they oppose donation, healthcare workers and the law assume that the person wanted to donate. If the person is not registered, staff must consult relatives to determine the deceased person’s wishes. That conversation can take anywhere from a minute to several days, particularly when relatives are in acute shock. Healthcare workers have also seen a threefold increase since 2020 in cases where relatives interpret the deceased person’s wishes as negative, a trend Löwhagen Hendén considers worrying.

“

The most common reasons a person becomes a potential organ donor, major brain hemorrhages, traumatic head injuries or cardiac arrest, are declining as treatment methods and preventive healthcare improve, which is fantastic in itself.