Figures on tissue donation 2024 in the network of the German Society for Tissue Transplantation (DGFG)
More tissue donation despite decreased willingness to donate
Hanover/Germany – 01.01.2025: In 2024, the German Society for Tissue Transplantation (DGFG) received a total of 55,691 donor registrations from more than 300 medical institutions. Consent was given 4,077 times in 10,704 interviews with potential donors and relatives. This corresponds to a consent rate of 38.1 percent. In the previous year, this figure stood at 40.6 percent and in 2022 it was as high as 42.2 percent. Despite a decline in willingness to donate, the DGFG was able to realize a total of 3,698 tissue donations in 2024 and thus provide 8,340 patients with a tissue transplant. Despite the encouraging trend in donation figures, the need for corneal transplants and heart valves still outweighs the number of available tissues. The challenges in the new year therefore include the further expansion of tissue donation for cardiovascular deaths and the implementation of the organ donation register in the donation process.
In 2024, the number of tissue donations in the network of the German Society for Tissue Transplantation increased again. However, there was an overall decline in the approval rate: In 2024 it stood at 38.1 percent while in the previous year, 40.6 percent of potential donors or their relatives agreed to donate tissue. Photo: Corneal transplant in the tissue bank. DGFG
Every year, more and more clinics report potential tissue donors to the DGFG, which is why the number of consultations and tissue donations continues to rise. “We are very pleased about this ongoing positive development, which we have been experiencing since 2007. In 2024, we were able to conduct more than 10,000 interviews on tissue donation for the first time. We received consent 4,077 times. We would like to take this opportunity to express our very particular gratitude to all donors and their families,” says Martin Börgel, Managing Director of the DGFG. Overall, however, the willingness to donate has decreased over the last two years. For the most part, relatives still have to make a decision on behalf of the deceased. Only around 30 percent of all potential donors have documented or verbally communicated their wishes during their lifetime. “Too many people still leave their family alone with the decision to donate tissue. It is possible that the introduction of an opt-out solution could change this situation. We are looking forward to the political debate and hope that organ and tissue donation as a whole will be more widely accepted and seen as a matter of course by the population.”
The cornea is the most donated tissue
3,607 of the 3,698 tissue donors donated their corneas. 7,195 corneal preparations were sent to the tissue banks in the DGFG network for preparation. Ultimately, the DGFG allocation office was able to provide 5,470 patients with a cornea in 2024. Nevertheless, more than 2,800 patients are on the waiting list and not all requests for a corneal transplant can be met immediately. Corneal transplants help people with serious diseases or injuries to the surface of the eye to achieve clear vision and a new quality of life.
Fewer tissue donations in organ donations complicate the supply of heart valves
3,268 tissue donations (88.4%) were realized by the DGFG independently of organ donation in cardiovascular deceased persons up to 72 hours after death. Only 392 tissue donations (10.6%) took place in organ donations. In 2023, this number was at 432. Since the majority of heart valves and blood vessels come from these donations, the heart could only be removed 191 times for the procurement of heart valves or vessels after an organ donation. In 2023, this was the case 253 times. This decline makes the already strained supply situation more difficult: the DGFG was able to provide 167 patients with a heart valve – 30 fewer than in the previous year. However, the demand for this tissue amounts to more than 300 heart valves, based on the number of applications the DGFG received from hospitals in 2024. Young patients in particular are dependent on human heart valves, as they can grow with the patient and do not require blood-thinning medication. “This high shortage of heart valves severely affects the lives of many patients. We will therefore continue to work with hospitals in the coming year to expand the donation programs for cardiovascular deaths in order to have a reliable alternative to organ donation,” says Börgel. As tissue donation, unlike organ donation, is not linked to brain death diagnostics, the DGFG continues to promote the donation program for cardiovascular deceased persons, which is independent of organ donation. Heart valves and blood vessels can be recovered up to 36 hours after death. In addition to the limited time window, these tissue removals are linked to significantly greater logistical and personnel challenges due to their volume compared to corneal donations.
Legal and technical implementation of tissue establishments to the organ donor registry in 2025
The German organ donor registry went live on March 18, 2024. Since then, around 212,000 citizens have entered their decision to donate organs and tissue online. Collection hospitals already consult the registry in the event of an organ donation. The implementation of tissue establishments, the fourth and final stage in the gradual launch of the registry, has been postponed until 2025. An amendment to the law is planned for later this year, which will provide for the direct integration of officially registered tissue establishments. Only after this amendment and the technical implementation have been completed will tissue establishments such as the DGFG be able to query the registry for tissue donations following cardiovascular death. Until then, alternative ways of documenting decisions, such as organ and tissue donor cards or living wills, should be used.
Amniotic membrane can be used in a variety of ways in wound care
The amniotic membrane of the placenta can be used for all types of severe wound healing disorders and as a skin substitute for burns. It is characterized by wound-healing-promoting and pain-reducing properties and also represents a valuable treatment option in wound care aside from ophthalmology: Physicians used the amniotic membrane six times to achieve wound closure in patients. In 2025, the DGFG expects a further increase in requests for the tissue, which expectant mothers can donate as part of a living tissue donation for planned caesarean births. Last year, the DGFG was able to distribute a total of 2,549 amniotic transplants.
Note to the editor: Further figures on tissue donation as well as images can be found at https://gewebenetzwerk.de/en/dgfg-downloads-for-press-and-media/
