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Organ Donation Day: Thousands wait for a donor organ

Organ Donation Day: Thousands wait for a donor organ

Kidney, liver or heart: Thousands of people in Germany need a life-saving donor organ. They often wait for years – many in vain. Questions and answers.

The day of organ donation on Saturday should again focus on the topic nationwide under the motto “Time to set an example”, because organ donations fell significantly in the past year.

How many people are waiting for a donor organ?

According to the German Foundation for Organ Transplantation (DSO), around 8,500 seriously ill people are currently on the waiting list for an organ nationwide. The state of health of hundreds of patients every year deteriorates so dramatically that a transplant is no longer possible or they die while waiting because a suitable organ was not found in time. In the past, 74 heart patients, 47 lung patients and 324 kidney patients who were on the waiting list died.

Around 6,600 people alone need a new kidney. That is four times as many patients as transplants could be placed in Germany in the course of the year. In total, even a hundred thousand people are dependent on dialysis. Some of these patients can no longer be put on the waiting list because they have no hope of even receiving a postmortem organ donation.

How many donors are there?

After hitting a low in 2017, when organ donation figures fell to their lowest level in 20 years, they initially rose again in 2018 and then largely stabilized in the following years. Last year, however, the number of postmortem donors fell again – to 869. In 2021 it was 933. A total of 2662 organs were donated after death last year and 3372 were transplanted.

What are the reasons for the decline?

After the numbers had remained largely stable in 2020 and 2021, the number of organ donations fell by 30 percent in the first quarter, according to the DSO. The organization cites the effects of the corona pandemic and the resulting sick leave among clinic staff as causes. The situation then stabilized at the level of previous years. In addition, fewer donations were made because consent was often lacking. Last but not least, medical reasons for exclusion play an increasingly important role with the increasing age of the donor.

Questions and answers: Thousands of people in Germany are waiting for a donor organ

Is there a decision compulsion?

No, the decision for or against organ donation is still voluntary in Germany. In addition to the determination of brain death, a prerequisite for an organ or tissue donation is that the deceased consented to the organ donation during their lifetime – with an organ donation card or in a living will. According to a survey by the Federal Center for Health Education, only 44 percent documented their decision in writing.

According to a recent survey by Techniker Krankenkasse, 49 percent have an organ donor card. If this is not the case, the relatives are asked about the presumed wishes of the deceased, which can be very distressing.

Which organs can be donated?

These are the kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas and small intestine. Tissues such as cornea or bone can also be transplanted. However, individual organs can also be excluded from the donor card.

Source: Stern

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