Norwegian waiting list for lung transplantation has increased by 333%
In the latest reported figures from Rikshospitalet (National Hospital) on July 1, a dramatic increase appears in the number on the waiting list for lung transplantation. This comes after a historically short waiting list in the run-up to Mette-Marit's lung transplantation.
July 9, 2026
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit Photo: Royal House
Norway operates a publicly funded healthcare system, and lung transplant candidates are prioritized according to medical criteria regardless of social status. Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who was transplanted in June, was therefore subject to the same prioritization framework as other patients awaiting transplantation.
Unresolved matters related to the waiting list
Samfunn og Politikk (S&P) has through previous articles put focus on the waiting list for lung transplantation. S&P has uncovered several unresolved matters that arose at the same time as the number on the waiting list for lung transplantation fell abruptly ahead of Mette-Marit's lung transplantation.
The mentioned matters are related to Rikshospitalet and concern marked discrepancies in reporting and patients who disappeared from the list, updated prioritization process, and lowered approximate upper age limit from 65 to 60 years, which stands in sharp contrast to international guidance of 70 years. S&P has documented the findings in previous articles linked at the bottom.
On the basis of these investigations and analyses, S&P has assessed that the patient list was adjusted in Mette-Marit's favor in the period before she was put on the waiting list on June 5.
A maximum of 12 days passed from when Mette-Marit was put on the waiting list until she was transplanted. The exact date is not known, but the announcement of the completed transplantation came on June 17.
Record increase on the waiting list after the transplantation
The latest figures from Rikshospitalet were reported to Scandiatransplant on 1 July and refer to second quarter of 2026, where 13 are now listed. On January 1 there were 5 reported, and on April 1 there were 3 reported on the list. The combined decrease in the two last quarters before Mette-Marit's transplantation amounted to 90%, the increase after Mette-Marit's transplantation amounts to 333.30%.A calculation of patient flow that S&P has carried out shows that 11 patients disappeared from the list ahead of the transplantation; furthermore, 19 patients must have been added if it is to correspond with the number of transplantations that have been carried out, see source at the bottom.Senior physician Are Martin Holm has, in two press conferences, given three different explanations for these large fluctuations. S&P has reviewed the explanations and assesses that they cannot explain the large fluctuations, read more.
Of public interest
Getting on the waiting list substantially increases the survival chances for those on the waiting list, while the chances are correspondingly reduced for seriously ill patients who for various reasons are not allowed to be on the waiting list.
It is precisely for this reason that questions about waiting lists, prioritization criteria, and changes in these are of great public interest. For patients who stand outside the waiting list, such decisions can have significance for life or death.
THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF AT SERIES
Waiting list for lung transplantation has increased by 333% in the first reporting after Mette-Marit was transplanted
SOURCES
Scandiatransplant (Scandiatransplant)
Figures – Transplantation and Waiting List StatisticsStiftelsen Organdonasjon (Norwegian Organ Donation Foundation)
StatisticsOUS/Rikshospitalet (OUS/Norwegian National Hospital)
Q4 2025 transplantation figuresSociety and Politics
Collected data basis and discrepancies