Organ donations reach record levels in Germany

Organ donations reach record levels in Germany in 2010

13/01/2011

The German Foundation for Organ Transplantation (DSO) reports that nearly 1,300 people were removed from their organs throughout Germany in 2010 after death. Thus, the number of transplants in Germany has reached its previous record.

„Never before in Germany could so many patients be helped with a transplant as last year“, reported the DSO. Although the majority of Germans do not have an organ donor card, the number of organ transplants reached a peak last year, according to the Foundation's announcement. „After the collapse of the numbers of organ donations in 2008 and the shutdown in 2009, things are now going up again“, explained the DSO. In 2010, 1,296 people were removed from their organs after their deaths - 79 more than the year before. Despite the record, the experts still see considerable potential in the field of organ donation. In international comparison, Germany still has a lot of catching up to do, so the verdict of the DSO.

Donated over 4,200 organs throughout Germany
Over the past year, according to DSO, the number of donated organs has increased from 3,897 in 2009 to 4,205 in 2010, with „with each organ donation (...) lives“ be rescued, said Günter Kirste, Medical Director of DSO. However, more than 12,000 patients are still on the waiting list, of which two-thirds need a new kidney, so the statement of the DSO. Nevertheless, the development in particular in the north and the middle of Germany is quite pleasing. According to the foundation, in the DSO-Region-Nord, the federal states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, as well as the federal states of Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, DSO-Region-Mitte has significantly increased transplantation numbers.

Number of organ donations regionally very different
In the DSO Region Center, the number of transplants increased from 312 in 2009 to 444 in 2010, with the number of organ donors increasing from 139 to 202, according to DSO experts. In the DSO Region North, the number of organs donated rose from 665 in 2009 to 729 in 2010, according to the DSO Medical Board. The numbers show a pleasing development and make clear, „that there is enough potential in this country to increase the number of organ donors even more“, emphasized Professor Günter Kirste. However, the data collected by the DSO also show that there is still considerable need to catch up in some federal states. Thus, the number of organ donors and the donated organs in North Rhine-Westphalia had fallen again compared to the year 2009. According to the DSO, the number of organ donors decreased by three in 2010 (from 259 to 256), and the number of donated organs fell from 839 to 804. In order to increase the number of organ donations in the whole of Germany in the future, all participating institutions would have to fulfill their duties in a binding manner, explained Günter Kirste. At the same time, the expert demanded better cooperation and coordination of all partners, whereby, according to the Medical Board of the DSO, not only the physicians, clinics and organizations but also the health insurance companies have a duty.

The DSO is skeptical about the current discussion about new laws on transplantation. More decisive, for example, is that the framework conditions for reporting hospitals are standardized throughout Germany in order to reliably recognize potential organ donors and implement their will. „That's why we need more liabilities for all partners in the system“, emphasized Günter Kirste. The inhousecoordination project, which was started in 2010, is a first important step in the right direction, but initial results are not expected until the end of 2011, according to spokeswoman for the DSO Birgit Blome „Doctors newspaper“

Positive effects of Steinmeier's kidney donation
Among other things, the DSO believes that positive effects have come from the great attention that was created last year by the kidney donation of the SPD parliamentary group chairman Frank-Walter Steinmeier. In the case of the kidneys, about every fifth organ transplanted in Germany is from a living donor, which is basically possible because humans have two kidneys, but only need one healthy organ to survive. The second kidney can be provided for transplantation as needed and with the consent of the donor, explained the DSO. Although the living donations do not appear in the current statistics of the DSO, since only organs of dead donors are recorded, but clearly positive tendencies can be observed.

Organ donation readiness in Germany is increasing
A survey conducted by the German Federal Center for Health Education (BzgA) on organ donation readiness showed that Germans were generally more willing to donate their organs after death than two years ago. For example, the proportion of people between the ages of 14 and 75, who would agree to an organ donation, rose from 67 percent in 2008 to 74 percent recently. However, according to the health authorities and various experts, only 14 to 25 percent of Germans still have an organ donor card. This puts Germany far behind in international comparison, with a quota of around 16 organ donors per million inhabitants per annum, according to DSO experts. In other countries such as Belgium, the USA, Austria, France, Italy or Finland it is more than 20 and in Spain even 34, emphasized Günter Kirste

DSO as a coordinating body for organ donations
The DSO, as the nationwide coordinator of post-mortem donation, is responsible for organizing all steps of the organ donation process, including the transport of organs to the beneficiaries. In order to accomplish this task, nearly 70 coordinators of the DSO are deployed nationwide, who also support the staff in the hospitals at the end of the organ donation. According to the Transplantation Act, persons from the age of 16 can independently consent to an organ donation in Germany. Already from the age of 14, donors can declare or deny a decision by third parties. According to current research, it is possible to transplant relatively many organs of the human body. A distinction must be made between organs that can only be obtained through a death donation and those that are transferable from a living donor. For example, DSO organ donation after death includes pancreas, blood vessels, skin, heart, heart valves, cornea of ​​the eyes, bone tissue, cartilage, and more. (Fp)

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Picture: Günther Richter