Research and Development

Providing tissue transplants to the population is one of the DGFG’s core tasks. It is necessary to develop these transplants further or introduce novel tissue preparations in order to further adapt them to new transplantation procedures. The DGFG works with various partners in the network in the areas of research, development, and practical implementation. The integration of different disciplines opens up opportunities for all those involved to advance the development of novel tissue transplants and the implementation of innovative approaches in practice. There is still a long way to go before tissues grown in the laboratory can be transplanted. Therefore, conventional tissue transplants will continue to be of great importance in the care of patients. Simultaneously, developing new processing and surgical methods continues to provide patients with the best possible care.

Improvement of tissue grafts

The DGFG is committed to improving tissue transplants in many medical fields. In the processing and transplantation of heart valves and blood vessels, the removal of cells from the donor’s supporting tissue is the key to minimising rejection reactions in recipients. Unimagined possibilities in the use of the amniotic membrane open up new therapeutic options. The DGFG is working together with scientists on new areas of application. With the introduction of LaMEK, it became possible to support the innovation of lamellar surgical techniques in corneal transplantation. For further development with the LaMEK preloaded, the DGFG received approval from the PEI in 2021 to provide this to clinics nationwide. The AmnioClip-plus is also the result of successful scientific cooperation: patients with severe corneal inflammations have already been helped quickly and easily.

Amniotic membrane for wound healing

AmnioClip-plus for ophthalmology

LaMEK (Pre-Cut Grafts for DMEK)

Advanced quality parameters of the cornea
A transparent cornea and thus clear vision depends on a functioning endothelium. A high endothelial cell count has therefore been considered one of the most important criteria for the quality of a cornea. At the same time, however, the transplantation result is determined by other parameters, such as an underlying disease of the donor, the course of the operation or the age of the recipient. It is therefore to be investigated to what extent a kind of quality profile can be created from the various characteristics of a cornea, with which a prediction can be made about the probability of success of the transplantation. This should enable a better allocation of suitable transplants to the recipient side in the future. For this purpose, the DGFG is working with various national (e.g. the University Eye Hospital in Rostock) and international experts, e.g. in the USA.

International projects

International cooperation is also an essential prerequisite in supporting other countries to establish local care structures in the field of tissue donation. Since summer 2021, the Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), as a service provider of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), has been financially supporting a DGFG project with the cornea bank at Dr Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital (SCEH) in Delhi, India. The aim is to expand the regional and technical infrastructure of the cornea bank in order to increase the number of cornea donations as well as the efficiency of data management. For this purpose, the partners want to establish two new locations under the central management in Delhi, where corneal donation can be organised and realised. Furthermore, the project team is developing a concept for an electronic data management system that is adapted to the processes of the SCEH. Under the aspect “Growing together in diversity”, both partners benefit from the professional cooperation as well as from the intercultural exchange.

On 13 November 2022, an exchange meeting to promote tissue donation in sub-Saharan Africa was held for the first time in Stellenbosch, Cape Town, as part of the SATiBA Conference, a meeting of the South African Tissue Bank Association (SATiBA). This meeting was organised by the German Society for Tissue Transplantation (DGFG) with the support of SATiBA, the World Union of Tissue Banking Associations (WUTBA) and the Global Alliance of Eye Bank Associations (GAEBA). The goal: to bring together experts and interested parties on the topic of tissue donation and the establishment of donation programmes, to exchange experiences and to bundle synergies.

Two new collection centers in North India

Tissue donation in sub-Saharan Africa

International Cooperation

The DGFG and its network partners are members in the:

EATCB – European Association of Tissue and Cell Banks

EDQM – European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Healthcare

EEBA – European Eye Bank Association

Eurocode – International Blood Labeling Systems e.V.

GAEBA – Global Alliance of Eye Bank Associations

SPRINT – International Network for Translating Research on Perinatal Derivatives into Therapeutic Approaches supported by COST

WUTBA – World Union of Tissue Banking Associations

Scientific publications

Contact

Cooperation partners benefit from 25 years of experience of the DGFG in tissue medicine and a Germany-wide infrastructure for donation, processing and procurement, accompanied by a central quality management. We invite experts from research and practice to use these synergies and to jointly transfer ideas into clinical application.

Dr. rer. nat. Nicola Hofmann

Scientific head of research & development

Dr. rer. nat. Anna-Katharina Salz

International Project Management

Dr. rer. nat. Katrin Hochrath

Research & Development