Appendix 5 – Forecasts for 2026

Voluntary Assisted Deaths for non-Swiss citizens

Summary

• In 2025, the total number of VADs in Switzerland for non-Swiss citizens is estimated to have been between 650 and 680.

• In 2026 we estimate the total will rise to between 750 and 775.

• Around 75% will be handled by Dignitas and Pegasos.

• The strongest increase in demand is coming from the USA and, to a lesser extent, from the UK.

Dignitas.

At the end of 2025 Dignitas had 15,968 members worldwide.   That was an increase of 6½% on 2024.   A similar trend seems likely for 2026.

The total number of VADs provided by Dignitas was 263 (a notably small proportion of its membership) but 28 of these were for Swiss citizens.   Therefore the “foreign visitors” total was 235.   Of these, the main contributors were :

• France – 48
• United Kingdom – 43
• USA – 37
• Israel – 29
• Italy – 17

The 2025 VAD figures were actually slightly lower than those for the previous year but we expect a small increase for 2026.   Our total forecast for non-Swiss VADs is 245, with most of the increase coming the UK.

Pegasos.

Pegasos handled around 290 VADs in 2025, slightly more than Dignitas.   A smaller proportion of their clients are from Switzerland, however, and the visitors from the USA or the UK together amount to around 40% of their cases.

Unlike Dignitas, they are reluctant to share their statistics and they do not work on the same “membership” model.   You do have to become a registered supporter but, essentially, Pegasos work with a much high proportion of “want-to-come-now” customers.

Our forecast for non-Swiss VADs is 320, with the greatest increase coming from the USA. 

Athanasios

Athanasios was launched in March 2025 and handled 82 VAD during the 2025 calendar year.   This implies a capacity of at least 110 per year and we estimate that it is now operating at that level, maybe even higher.

Its achievement, from a standing start, of that activity is very commendable.   It will have benefited, of course, from its endorsement by EXIT International after their fall-out with Pegasos.   Also, it is the least expensive of the current VAD providers, it is prepared to accept VAD patients travelling alone and it does not insist upon prior membership.

The question, therefore, is whether it can scale up fairly quickly and without allowing the quality of its service to fall.   Our view is that it can do so and we are therefore forecasting their non-Swiss VADs at 130 for 2026.

Phoenix Care

The second of the new providers in 2025 was Phoenix Care.   They launched in June and completed 20 VAD procedures before the end of the year.   Quite deliberately, they have not been so ambitiously expansive as Athanasios, preferring to retain their overall wrap-around “care” approach for VAD visitors.

They certainly have the capacity to handle one or two VAD cases each week because they have access to the two specialist apartments in Liestal.   Their rate of expansion therefore is probably a matter of their own choice.   The overall demand is growing and awareness of their presence, albeit substantially by word-of-mouth, is growing too.   We think they will handle 50 VAD procedures during 2026.

Other VAD providers

Lifecircle was founded by Erika Preisig in 2011 but closed its books to new members in October 2022.   It is still conducting VAD procedures from its dedicated apartment in Liestal but is now handling only applications from people who had joined before that date.   Inevitably, such numbers are now falling and the caseload is probably down to one per month.

EX International (not to be confused with EXIT International) is a good and active VAD provider based in Bern.   They can handle non-Swiss patients but do so relatively rarely.   They prefer to conduct their work in the homes of their clients.   This means that a majority of their patients are Swiss citizens.   They very rarely take cases from the UK or America.

The Last Resort was set up in 2023 specifically to handle Swiss VADs using the Sarco “suicide pod” as developed by Philip Nitschke of EXIT International.   Only one such VAD was carried out, in September 202, and this was followed by a prosecution.   The Last Resort is now considered to be inactive, with enquirers being passed on to Athanasios.

Our forecast for the total number of non-Swiss VADs by these three providers  in 2026 is 20.

Totals

The total number of 2026 VADs conducted in Switzerland for non-Swiss citizens is therefore forecast to be 765, as follows :

• Dignitas – 245
• Pegasos – 320
• Athanasios – 130
• Phoenix Care – 50
• Other providers – 20
• Total – 765

This figure, if achieved would represent an increase of 10% on the estimated level for 2025.

It is very difficult to estimate the countries from which VAD recipients have come.   For the six providers considered, we believe that 20% will have come from France, 18% from the USA, 16% from the UK and 46% from elsewhere in the world.