Number of Human Organ Transplants Performed in Singapore and Review of Organ Donation Consent Framework to Address Organ Shortage

Ms Kuah Boon Theng asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has considered if there are measures that can be taken to address the issue of persistent organ shortage for transplant; and (b) whether the current organ donation consent framework, which is based on an opt-out system, has been effective or requires reassessment.

Ms Kuah Boon Theng asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) how many human organ transplants were performed in Singapore in the last five years; (b) how many of these were (i) living and (ii) cadaveric donor transplants; and (c) what are the reasons why the number of cadaveric donor transplants have reportedly remained low in spite of our opt-out system under the Human Organ Transplant Act.

I will address Question Nos 31 and 32 together. From 2021 to 2025, there were 973 organ transplants performed in Singapore, comprising 309 living donor organ transplants and 664 deceased donor organ transplants.

The gap between the demand for organs and the availability of suitable donors is a global challenge and is not unique to Singapore. With the 1987 Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA), and widening of this coverage beyond kidney to heart, liver and cornea donation, the average number of deceased donor kidney transplants increased from five per year prior to HOTA to an average of 33 per year between 2021 and 2025.

Notwithstanding, there are more patients needing organs than there are donors. One contributory factor is that only a small proportion of deaths occur under circumstances that permit organ donation. Further, some potential donors are medically unsuitable due to underlying medical conditions, such as malignancy or infection, or may not meet the criteria for brain-death certification.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) continually reviews ways to broaden access to organ donation and transplantation. In 2024, kidney donation after circulatory death was introduced as an additional pathway for deceased kidney donation, expanding the pool of potential donors and allowing next-of-kin to fulfil the deceased person's wish to donate even when brain-death criteria are not met.

The National Organ Transplant Unit works closely with organ transplant programmes to identify and assess technologies, such as organ perfusion technologies, which can help preserve donor organs that would previously have been considered unsuitable for transplantation. Living donor kidney and liver transplantation also provides further opportunities for patients with end-stage kidney or liver disease to receive a transplant.

MOH also supports the training of healthcare professionals to equip them with the skills to engage families sensitively and facilitate discussions on organ donation. We continue to strengthen public education and outreach efforts to raise awareness of the life-saving impact of organ donation, through initiatives, such as the annual Live On Festival. In 2025, an online portal was also launched for Singaporeans to register and check their organ donation preferences more conveniently.

MOH will continue to promote public awareness, foster greater understanding and support for organ donation, and strengthen Singapore's organ donation and transplantation ecosystem so that more patients in need can benefit.