Official Issues Grave Concern: Inadequate Number of Organ Donors
Call to Action: Join the Organ Donor Roll and Save Lives!
In a heartfelt plea, Federal Health Minister Nina Warken urges citizens to consider organ donation. With a growing number of people desperately in need of organ transplants, she stresses the urgent need for more donations, stating, "Organ donation saves lives, and we need more of it than ever before."
Take the Step: Speak Up and Document your Decision
Warken encourages all those who are open to the idea to discuss their intentions with their families and to document their decisions, be it through an organ donor card or the online organ donor register.
Already, over 300,000 individuals have registered their willingness to donate on the organ donor register, which launched a year ago. Of these, a considerable 82.9% agreed to organ removal post-mortem without restriction, while 8.1% expressed objections.
Unraveling Long Waiting Lists
The organ donor register, accessible at www.organspende-register.de, came online in March 2024. This platform allows individuals aged 16 and above to express their willingness to donate or refrain from doing so. The information provided is voluntary and may be amended or withdrawn at any time.
Addressing the Shortage
Organs such as kidneys, livers, and hearts are in high demand for seriously ill patients. In 2024 alone, 953 individuals donated organs post-mortem, a slight decrease from the 965 donors in 2023. Simultaneously, the number of patients on waiting lists stood at approximately 8,300 at the end of 2024.
Berating the Shortcomings
Eugen Brysch, a board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, voiced concerns about the online register for willingness to donate, claiming it falls short of its intended goals. Brysch criticized the registration process as needlessly complicated and argued for passport and ID offices to be linked to the register, as decided by the Bundestag in 2020.
Streamlining the Process
To simplify organ donation registration in Germany, possible strategies include streamlining the registration systems, increasing awareness and education, simplifying digital registration, and refining the current consent process for clearer and more accessible registration.
[1] Source: German Foundation for Patient Protection
[2] Source: The New England Journal of Medicine
[3] Source: Transplantation Proceedings
[4] Source: The British Medical Journal
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