Working in tissue donation – more than just a job!

Our tissue donation coordinators are active in the donation. They are responsible, in agreement with their regional director, for organising tissue donation at the hospitals they care for and in the surrounding region.

Working hours must be flexible

The organisation of tissue donation has a significant influence on the daily work of our employees. Most tissue donations take place in the pathological departments of the cooperating hospitals. Due to their operating hours, most tissue collections take place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. A corneal donation is possible up to 72 hours after death. Due to this long time window, corneal removal at the weekend is the exception.

The situation is different for organ donors, where tissue donation is also possible. Organ donations often take place at night. It is an advantage if a DGFG employee is present on site. This can also lead to night work, weekends and public holidays. However, these assignments are very limited and are distributed among all DGFG coordinators.

Donor screening is much more time-consuming than the actual collection: the first assessment as to whether a deceased person is eligible for a possible tissue donation. The coordinators check the anonymous deceased reports on the basis of defined criteria. Due to the strong communicative activity and the involvement of many participants, it is often necessary to get in touch with contact persons in the clinics several times. This makes a flexible working day necessary. All DGFG coordinators are equipped with mobile devices (smartphone, laptop). At many locations, vehicles or driving services are available to ensure the donation. Therefore, the coordinators have a very varied and interesting workplace.