According to Ynet, Israel’s organ transplant waiting list declined for the first time in five years, along with a drop in the number of deaths among patients awaiting a donor organ. The most significant decrease was among patients waiting for lung transplants, which fell by 10 patients compared to last year, bringing the total to 209. Key initiatives credited with this progress include the expansion of Israel’s Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) program and increased cooperation with Cyprus.
In 2025, a total of 622 organ transplants were performed from deceased and living donors, including 35 heart transplants, 47 lung transplants and 313 kidney transplants from living donors. In addition, 759 corneal transplants were carried out. The report also found that 131 patients were moved up the waiting list thanks to priority granted to those who had previously signed an Adi donor card.
The Transplant Center noted that for the first time in five years, the number of people waiting for an organ transplant declined, from 1,481 in 2024 to 1,454 last year. This coincided with a first-ever drop in 2025 in the number of new patients added to the waiting list, from 848 in 2024 to 728 last year.
Waiting times for transplants can stretch from months to years, depending on the type of organ, the patient’s medical condition and the availability of donor organs. Each year, dozens of patients die while awaiting transplants. After two years of increases, the number of deaths on the waiting list fell in 2025, from 72 to 56.
Israel’s DCD program, which has been in operation for more than a decade, helps increase the number of kidneys available for transplant by allowing procurement from donors after cardiac death is declared. In 2025, the program was expanded, with nine medical centers across Israel implementing it.
Israel also received two liver donations, two lung donations, and one heart donation from Cyprus. One notable case involved a father donating an organ to his daughter during the war, an effort made possible through close coordination between the Israeli and Cypriot embassies and the Transplant Center.
“Organ donation is the noblest expression of altruism and mutual responsibility, which lie at the foundation of our existence as a society and whose purpose is saving lives,” said Health Ministry Director General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov.
