The number of organ donations in Germany increased last year. After the sharp decline in 2022, a slight recovery was recorded in 2023, said the German Organ Transplantation Foundation (DSO). According to this, 965 people donated one or more organs after their death last year, 96 more than in the previous year. That corresponds to 11.4 donors per million inhabitants. In 2022 there were still 10.3 donors per million inhabitants.
According to the information, the total number of organs removed postmortem increased by 8.1 percent to 2,877. In the 45 domestic transplant centers, 2,985 organs were transferred after postmortem donation from Germany and the Eurotransplant network.
More on the topic: Organ donation
Organ donation: What you should know about organ donation
Organ donation: every life matters! Or not?
Organ donation: “Nobody knows how long Lara can live with her lungs”
more comments
In total, 2,866 seriously ill patients were given a better quality of life or even a continuation of life; the previous year the number was 2,695. At the same time, almost 8,400 people in Germany are on waiting lists for a transplant.
Online register is intended to make documentation easier
The all-clear cannot be given, said the DSO’s medical director, Axel Rahmel: “Due to the enormous collapse in the number of donors in 2022, the increase of 11 percent at least brings us back to the level that we were able to maintain in previous years.” Overall, however, it is clearly too low.
Newsletter
© Lea Dohle
“What now?” – The daily morning overview
By registering, you acknowledge the data protection declaration.
Thank you! We have sent you an email.
Check your mailbox and confirm your newsletter subscription.
Rahmel therefore called for people to make a decision about organ donation during their lifetime: “Every single organ counts and can save a life.” However, organ donation is not possible in Germany without the consent of the deceased themselves or their relatives. In order to make documentation easier, an organ donation register will be put online later this year in which you can record your decision.
According to the DSO, Germany continues to be at the bottom of the international comparison and is dependent on donations from other member states in the Eurotransplant network. Accordingly, more organs are donated to Germany than are given to other countries. In the past, contradictory solutions were therefore discussed, with which express consent would no longer be necessary for the postmortem removal of organs.
The number of organ donations in Germany increased last year. After the sharp decline in 2022, a slight recovery was recorded in 2023, said the German Organ Transplantation Foundation (DSO). According to this, 965 people donated one or more organs after their death last year, 96 more than in the previous year. That corresponds to 11.4 donors per million inhabitants. In 2022 there were still 10.3 donors per million inhabitants.
According to the information, the total number of organs removed postmortem increased by 8.1 percent to 2,877. In the 45 domestic transplant centers, 2,985 organs were transferred after postmortem donation from Germany and the Eurotransplant network.