Last year, 271 people donated their organs after their death, the highest number ever, according to the Dutch transplant foundation.

In addition, 530 people made a living donation of a kidney or partial liver, a rise of 3% on 2013.

However, this is well below the target set by Dutch hospitals in 2008. They wanted to see a 25% rise in donations over the following five years, but the actual rise was just 11%, the foundation says in its annual report.

One in four of the Dutch is included in the official register of potential organ donors.

Last month, Trouw reported that organ donors in the Netherlands are getting older, with the average age rising from 43 to 55 over the past 20 years.

The rise is partly due to the reduction in road traffic accidents, meaning fewer organs become available for donation,