320,000 people commit their lives to organ donation – what now?

320,000 people commit their lives to organ donation – what now?

Around 320,000 people in Germany have taken an important step towards organ donation: They have recorded their willingness to have organs donated after their death in a central online register. According to current information, an impressive 83.3 percent of those registered fully agree that organs can be removed. But there are also other views: 7.9 percent documented an objection to organ donation, while 6.2 percent want to exclude certain organs from donation. There are also people who have named others as decision makers - in 1.7 percent of cases. The digital register has since proven to be a convenient point of contact for many, especially since it went online on March 18, 2024.

But what does that mean specifically? More than 280,100 declarations have already been submitted, and of these, 194,800 alone come from digital registration via the portal. This is encouraging, considering that over 90 percent of the clinics that remove organs are now connected to the registry. This is not only a gain for transparency, but could also lead to potential donors being identified more quickly. radio cologne reports that 2,639 searches for entries in the register have already been carried out by the end of 2024.

The importance of the organ donor card

A crucial aspect of organ donation is the organ donor card, a legally binding document that has existed for approximately 50 years. This document allows citizens to decide either for or against organ and tissue donation. According to the German Organ Transplantation Foundation, certain organs can be excluded and changes to the ID card are possible at any time. In any case, relatives should be informed about the decision to donate organs, as they will be called upon to make the decision in the event of an incident without a written expression of their wishes. It is all the more important that citizens always update their information and record their actions in an organ donor card or directly in the digital register. dso.de adds that the organ donor card has played a central role in relieving the burden on relatives in recent decades.

Facts and figures about organ donation

There are some important figures on organ donation that illustrate the urgency of the issue. In 2024, 953 people donated organs, a slight decrease from 2023 when there were 965 donations. This is particularly worrying in a country where almost 8,300 people were on waiting lists for organ donations at the end of 2024. organspende-info.de highlights the importance of raising awareness of organ donation and the need to build on the measures and legal bases already taken to improve the situation.

Overall, it is clear that the topic of organ donation is highly relevant. There is still much to be done to increase the number of organ donors. Digitally recording willingness to donate organs offers a glimpse of a future in which more people can pull together - because in the end it is the willingness of citizens that is crucial.