Figures on tissue donation 2024

Record in raising awareness: More than 10,000 interviews held on tissue donation

Hanover – 28th May 2025: The German Society for Tissue Transplantation (DGFG) is publishing its 2024 annual report today with figures on tissue donation and transplantation in Germany. For the first time, tissue donation coordinators and doctors conducted over 10,000 interviews on tissue donation and received consent 4,129 times. Despite a decline in the consent rate from 40.6 percent (2023) to 38.1 percent (2024), more tissue donations were performed in the DGFG network. A total of 3,746 people donated tissue – an increase of 6.9 percent. This resulted in 8,369 transplants, over 10 percent more tissue than in the previous year, giving numerous patients a new quality of life.

Once again in 2024, it was shown that tissue donation is working – and helping thousands of people in Germany. In 2024, the DGFG received 57,067 reports of potential donors from more than 330 medical facilities. Thanks to the 3,746 donors and the commitment of dedicated clinic partners, tissue donation coordinators and doctors, the DGFG was able to perform more tissue donations than ever before. With an increase of 10 percent, the 14 tissue banks in the network processed 8,369 transplants, including 5,488 corneas, which were successfully delivered to patients for transplantation.

“Behind every donation, behind every allocated transplant stands a person and their loved ones. We are grateful to be able to fulfill the donation wishes of the deceased in our strong network and – thanks to the commitment of many dedicated partners – to be able to make an important contribution to the medical care of patients nationwide”, says Martin Börgel, Managing Director of the DGFG.

More than 10,000 interviews conducted for the first time
As part of a tissue donation, an interview is always held with the next of kin to provide neutral information about the possibility of tissue donation and to assess the wishes of the deceased. The DGFG’s doctors and coordinators held over 10,000 such interviews for the first time in 2024. However, the decision to donate tissue is still predominantly based on the presumed will of the deceased – with 67.7 percent in the case of consent and 63.2 percent in the case of refusal. These figures demonstrate: The will of the deceased is often not known to the relatives. Only a conversation during their lifetime, an entry in the organ donor register or a completed organ and tissue donor card can relieve the burden on relatives and provide certainty in the decision-making process.

Less tissue donated for organ donation makes the supply of heart valves more difficult
Despite the success of the donation figures, the situation remains tense: the general willingness to donate is declining and the shortage of heart valves still requires action. At 83 percent, the majority of heart valves and blood vessels still come from organ donors. The slight decline in the number of organ donations from 965 in 2023 to 953 in 2024 also led to a corresponding decline in the donation of these so-called cardiovascular tissues from 253 CVT in 2023 to 195 in 2024. Not even one in two requests for a heart valve could be fulfilled last year. Doctors therefore often have to resort to artificial or biological alternatives, some of which have poorer chances of recovery and prognoses. The DGFG is therefore committed to further expand the donation program after cardiovascular death.

DGFG appeals to the new German government
Since March 2024, German citizens have been able to document their will regarding organ and tissue donation online at www.organspende-register.de. A direct connection of tissue donation facilities to the organ donor register was planned as part of the fourth and final stage of the register’s launch. A draft amendment from the Federal Ministry of Health proposed that officially registered tissue establishments would be able to check whether consent for tissue donation had been given. The process was already at an advanced stage but failed due to the split of the German government. As a result, it is still not possible for tissue establishments to access the register in a potential donation case to check the consent status of a deceased person. The DGFG is therefore appealing to the new government to resume the legislative amendment process in order to take the next step towards greater clarity, efficiency and safety in the tissue donation process.

About the German Society for Tissue Transplantation (DGFG)

The DGFG has been promoting tissue donation and transplantation in Germany since 1997. Based on the Tissue Act of 2007, all activities and processes of tissue donation are regulated by law. All tissue preparations are subject to a ban on trade. The DGFG distributes the transplants through a central allocation office based on a nationwide waiting list. Any medical facility can obtain tissue from the DGFG. As an independent, non-profit organization, the DGFG is supported exclusively by public healthcare institutions: the shareholders are the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, the University Hospital Leipzig, the Hannover Medical School, the University Medical Center Rostock, and the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Clinic Neubrandenburg. The DGFG is unique in Germany in terms of its organizational structure, the voluntary nature of the support provided by the network partners and its independence from private or commercial interests.