Malaysia faces a widening gap between organ donation pledges and actual transplants, with nearly 10,800 patients currently waiting for life-saving organs despite over 400,000 Malaysians having signed up as donors.
Launching the National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa today, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad called for urgent public commitment to honour the wishes of registered donors.
“Too often, organ donations cannot proceed because families withhold consent. This year’s theme, Derma Organ: Warisku, Hormati Ikrarku (Organ Donation: My Heirs, Respect My Pledge), is about ensuring that donors’ wishes are respected. If families honour these pledges, many more lives could be saved,” he said.
As of July 2025, Malaysia has recorded 404,975 registered pledges, including 16,635 made through the MySejahtera app. Yet only 46 posthumous donations were carried out last year, translating to 1.33 donors per million population (PMP). This figure remains far behind global leaders such as Spain (52.56 PMP) and the United States (34.14 PMP), as well as Muslim-majority countries like Turkiye (7.5 PMP) and Saudi Arabia.
“These figures show we are still far behind,” Dzulkefly noted. “We must strengthen awareness across all races, cultures and religions in Malaysia.”
In 2023 alone, an estimated 53,000 Malaysians were living with end-stage kidney failure, the majority relying on dialysis.
“Dialysis is not a cure, it is only a treatment, three times a week, three hours each session,” Dzulkefly said. “We must move beyond dialysis and focus on curative therapy and organ transplants.”
To close the gap, the Health Ministry plans to transform the National Transplant Resource Centre into a full National Transplant Centre, enhancing governance and capacity. “It can no longer just be talk, workshops or blueprints. We must leave footprints, real outcomes,” the minister stressed. “Strong governance, proper coordination across centres and strategic planning are key.”
Putting transplantation higher on the regional agenda, Malaysia will push for organ donation to be recognised as a shared health priority during the ASEAN Health Ministers’ Meeting in 2026.
“Organ donation is not merely a medical issue, but one of compassion and sacrifice,” Dzulkefly said. “Let us together make it a legacy of humanity, passed from one generation to the next.”
Since records began in 1997, Malaysia has completed only 3,359 transplants comprising 1,121 cadaveric and 2,238 living-donor transplants despite steadily increasing pledges year on year. While acknowledging workforce shortages and resource constraints, Dzulkefly emphasised that organ donation remains at the heart of the ministry’s agenda.
“Our low organ donation rate cannot continue unchecked. With public support, better coordination and courageous policy, we can and must change the narrative.”
