2024-01-16 18:53:25
Health transplants
In Germany, more organs are being donated again – but still too few
As of: 4:02 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
If you want an organ donor card, you can find it in many doctor’s offices or pharmacies
Source: dpa-tmn
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8,400 people in this country are waiting for a transplant. The willingness to donate has increased, but remains low. It’s easy to document your decision for or against a donation – if you pay attention to a few things when filling it out and keeping it.
The number of organ donations in Germany increased last year. After a sharp decline in 2022, there was a slight recovery in 2023, said the German Organ Transplantation Foundation (DSO). Last year, 965 people donated one or more organs after their death, 96 more than the year before. This corresponds to 11.4 donors per million inhabitants; in 2022 it was 10.3 donors per million inhabitants.
The total number of organs removed postmortem in Germany increased by 8.1 percent to 2,877. These included 1,488 kidneys, 766 livers, 303 hearts, 266 lungs, 52 pancreases and 2 intestines. In the 45 domestic transplant centers, 2,985 organs were transferred after postmortem donation from Germany and the Eurotransplant network.
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Nationwide, a total of 2,866 seriously ill patients were given a better quality of life or even continued life through one or more organs; the previous year the number was 2,695. In total, almost 8,400 people in Germany were waiting for one or more organs.
There is still a shortage of donor organs
The all-clear cannot be given, explained 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,” said Rahmel. But this is clearly too low.
There is still a significant shortage of donor organs, meaning that not all people waiting for an organ can be helped, although medical options exist. Germany is at the bottom of the international comparison and benefits from other member states in the Eurotransplant network by receiving more organs than it gives away.
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Tier-Mensch-Transplantation
“Every single organ counts and can save a life,” appealed Rahmel. You should make a decision during your lifetime and document it in an organ donor card and/or a living will. Organ donation is not possible in Germany without the consent of the deceased themselves or their relatives. During the course of the year, an organ donation register will go online in which you can record your decision.
This is important to keep in mind when making your ID card
If you want to document your decision for or against donation in an organ donor card, you can ask for it at a pharmacy or doctor’s office at the next opportunity. Many have it in stock.
A contact point on the Internet is the website organspende-info.de of the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA). There you can download an organ donation card as a PDF file to fill out and print out. If you want a solid plastic card instead of thin paper, you can also order this from the BZgA.
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If you want to be safe while traveling, you can also find PDF templates in around 30 languages to download. By the way: The organ donor card is not a must. According to the BZgA, the decision to donate an organ can also be recorded in any other document – for example in the living will. However, this makes no sense in the will, warns the BZgA: it is only opened at a time when it is already too late for organ donation.
Only a few illnesses preclude donation
Whether you fill out an ID template or record the decision in the living will: It is important that the will is clearly formulated so that the information does not contradict each other.
In the “Comments/Special Notes” field you can note any illnesses, if any. Good to know: According to the BZgA, only a few diseases generally rule out organ donation. This is the case, for example, with acute cancer.
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Once the ID card has been filled out and signed, it is best to carry it with you in your wallet. It also makes sense to inform relatives so that they know that you have agreed to be an organ donor in case of any emergencies.
If you want to change your mind, don’t worry: you can do it at any time. In such a case, you simply fill out a new organ donor card and destroy the previous version, according to the BZgA. It is best to inform family members that your decision has changed.
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