Mongolia highlighted the urgent need for brain-dead donors during “Donate Life” Day on October 21, 2025, at Sukhbaatar Square. Health experts emphasized that establishing a brain-dead donor system could save numerous lives and expand transplant opportunities.
Professor Sergelen Orgoi, Head of the Liver Transplant Team, explained that Mongolia relies almost entirely on living donors for organ transplants. She stressed that organs from donors, including kidneys, hearts, lungs, bones, and tendons, remain largely untapped. “One brain-dead donor can save up to ten lives. Mongolia must prioritize the development of a brain-dead donor system,” she said.
Mongolia performed its first kidney transplant in 2006 and introduced liver transplants in 2011. Stem cell and bone marrow transplants began in 2014. The Organ Transplant Center at the First Central Hospital has since treated hundreds of patients, improving survival rates and healthcare outcomes.
Currently, more than 1,040 patients in Mongolia are waiting for organ donations. Kidney transplants have been performed for 375 patients, liver transplants for 451, and bone marrow transplants for 34. Over 90 percent of these procedures used organs from living donors.
National health statistics show that over 600 people die annually from accidents and more than 3,000 from strokes. Despite this, only 72 individuals have received organs from brain-dead donors. Experts warn that the limited supply of brain-dead donors restricts life-saving procedures and prevents expansion of other critical surgeries.
The law on organ donation defines a deceased donor as a person declared brain-dead with irreversible loss of all brain functions, allowing retrieval of viable organs and tissues for transplantation. Officials from the Ministry of Health’s Cell and Organ Transplantation Center stressed that legal frameworks exist but practical implementation remains limited.
Experts say that promoting public awareness, enhancing hospital protocols, and improving registration systems for brain-dead donors are essential. Expanding the pool of brain-dead donors could significantly reduce waiting lists and prevent unnecessary deaths.
Professor Orgoi called on both policymakers and the public to act. She noted that increasing brain-dead donors is critical for Mongolia’s healthcare future and for saving countless lives.
