The Biomedicine Agency warns of the decline in organ donations intended for children.
- In France, many babies and young children are waiting for a transplant, but the number of pediatric organ donors has decreased by 31% since 2018.
- Over the last year, France registered 48 pediatric donors (13 of whom were under 5 years old) and 260 new young patients registered waiting for a transplant (including 118 for the liver, 111 for the kidney and 25 for the heart).
- “We are never prepared for the death of our child, but we can prepare ourselves for the question of organ donation. Saying yes to organ donation is a courageous and generous act allowing other children to continue living”, underlines the Biomedicine Agency.
On the occasion of the release of Karim Dridi’s film “Relive”, the Biomedicine Agency recalls in a press release “pediatric organ donation needs for young patients”.
“The number of pediatric organ donors is decreasing by 31%”
“In France, many babies and young children are waiting for a transplant, but the number of pediatric organ donors has decreased by 31% since 2018,” specifies the organization. “This drop raises the double question of the level of information and the rate of parental opposition to the collection” she adds.
“Indeed, in the context of pediatric donation, the explicit consent of both holders of parental authority must be obtained,” specify the specialists. “The pediatric opposition rate reaches 47% in 2023, compared to 30% in 2011. This rate remains higher than the average opposition rate observed in adults (36% in 2023)”, they lament.
In 2023, 18 children died due to lack of a compatible graft
Organ transplantation in children requires the availability of organs of a suitable size for their body shape, and families must decide in a very short time whether their deceased child can be a potential donor. Over the last year, France registered 48 pediatric donors (13 of whom were under 5 years old) and 260 new young patients registered waiting for a transplant (including 118 for the liver, 111 for the kidney and 25 for the heart).
Children always have priority over adults when an organ is available and adapted to their morphology, but the median wait remains too long: – 11.1 months for the kidney, – 2.1 months for the liver, – 2 month for the heart. In 2023, 18 children died due to lack of a compatible graft.
Pediatric organ donations: “it is important to raise awareness among parents”
“We are never prepared for the death of our child, but we can prepare ourselves for the question of organ donation. Saying yes to organ donation is a courageous and generous act allowing other children to continue living”, underlines the Biomedicine Agency.
For Marine Jeantet, general director of the institution: “in the midst of everyday life, convoys like no other transport an organ intended to save a life, sometimes a young child, sometimes an older person. There is no age to receive an organ as there is no age to give them, we are all concerned, all donors, all recipients.”
“This is why it is important to raise awareness among parents, when everything is going well and when the question does not arise,” concludes the Biomedicine Agency.
