Lithuania has carried out dozens of life-saving organ transplants in less than two weeks, though officials warn of a growing trend of families refusing to donate the organs of deceased relatives.
According to the Health Ministry, 21 transplants were performed in Lithuania between July 14 and 25, with a further seven conducted in Latvia and Poland using donor organs prepared in Lithuania.
Health Minister Linas Kukuraitis described the period as a record success in the history of organ donation in Lithuania.
Kukuraitis said Lithuania currently ranks eighth globally and seventh in Europe for effective donation rates per million inhabitants.
During this period, Santaros Clinics performed three heart transplants, while Kauno Clinics performed one, bringing the total number of heart transplants this year to five. By comparison, a total of four such transplants were carried out in Lithuania in 2025.
Tomas Tamošuitis, head of the Kaunas Regional Donation Service Coordination Centre, said that while donation rates at university hospitals have remained stable, the main breakthrough had come from more active involvement by regional and district hospitals.
However, Tamošuitis said the results remain limited by a high rate of refusals from relatives. According to National Transplant Bureau data, the refusal rate currently stands at 38 percent, up from 29 percent at the end of last year.
Donation specialists say relatives often refuse because they fear contradicting the wishes of the deceased or because of myths surrounding donation, including the belief that organ removal prevents a church burial.
Specialists aim to address these concerns by explaining the process and its significance during consultations.
Ministry data show that 151 organ transplants were performed in Lithuania last year, including 117 deceased-donor and six living-donor kidney transplants, 24 liver transplants and four heart transplants. An additional 373 tissue and cell transplants were conducted, including 77 cornea and hematopoietic stem cell procedures.
Currently, 309 patients are awaiting various organ transplants, with the average waiting time for a heart transplant exceeding two years. A total of 51,867 residents have signed donor cards expressing consent to donate organs and tissues after death.
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