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Organspendezahlen, Statistik

Data and facts

Statistics and graphics on organ donation numbers in Germany and other European countries.

The steady decline in organ donation in Germany has continued since 2010, although other European countries (Spain, France and England) have seen steady increases. This also has to do with the transplantation laws in force there with the “opt-out” (OPT-OUT) regulation, as can be seen in the graphics and statistics below.

Organspendezahlen, Statistik

Data and facts

Statistics and graphics on organ donation numbers in Germany and other European countries.

The steady decline in organ donation in Germany has continued since 2010, although other European countries (Spain, France and England) have seen steady increases. This also has to do with the transplantation laws in force there with the “opt-out” (OPT-OUT) regulation, as can be seen in the graphics and statistics below.

Organspendezahlen, Statistik

Data and facts

Statistics and graphics on organ donation numbers in Germany and other European countries.

The steady decline in organ donation in Germany has continued since 2010, although other European countries (Spain, France and England) have seen steady increases. This also has to do with the transplantation laws in force there with the “opt-out” (OPT-OUT) regulation, as can be seen in the graphics and statistics below.

Organ donation down (-28%*) since 2010 in Germany

Jahr DE SP FR ENG
2010 1.298 1.502 1.538 1.248
2011 1.201 1.777 1.631 1.056
2012 1.046 1.643 1.589 1.164
2013 876 1.655 1.627 1.323
2014 864 1.682 1.627 1.309
2015 877 1.682 1.809 1.311
2016 857 2.018 1.859 1.401
2017 797 2.182 1.933 1.492
2018 955 2.241 1.881 1.619
2019 932 2.302 2.188 1.653
2020 913 1.777 1.512 1.248
2021 933 1.905 1.614 1.350
2022 869 2.196 1.694 1.413
2023 965 2.346 1.791 1.513
2024 953 2.346 1.791 1.513

Source: IroDat, *based on the year 2019 compared to 2010

Comparison in Europa: SP +53%*, FR +42%* and GB +32% *

Source: IroDat, *based on the year 2019 compared to 2010

Growth rates compared to the previous year:

wdt_ID Jahr DE SP FR ENG
1 2011 -7,47 18,31 6,05 -15,38
2 2012 -12,91 -7,54 -2,58 10,23
3 2013 -16,25 0,73 2,39 13,66
4 2014 -1,37 1,63 0,00 -1,06
5 2015 1,50 0,00 11,19 0,15
6 2016 -2,28 19,98 2,76 6,86
7 2017 -7,00 8,13 3,98 6,50
8 2018 19,82 2,70 -2,69 8,51
9 2019 -2,41 2,72 16,32 2,10
10 2020 -2,04 -22,81 -30,90 -24,50
11 2021 2,19 7,20 6,75 8,17
12 2022 -6,86 15,28 4,96 4,67
13 2023 11,05 6,83 5,73 7,00

Source: IroDat, Formula: (current number MINUS previous year number) DIVIDED previous year number

Growth rates: Germany has nine times scaling down.

Source: IroDat

Growth / stagnation since 2000

Source: IroDat

The numbers are clear

Since 2000, the European countries Spain, France and England have seen a steady increase in organ donation numbers. Germany is not only in the lower range with three-digit numbers, but has experienced a real fall since 2010, from 1298 (2010) to 876 (2013).

OPT-IN

organ donation germany down

OPT-OUT

Europe Organ donation increasing
transplant laws

Organdonation-Laws in Europe

Transplantationsgesetze in Europa
  • null
    Denmark
  • null
    Lithuania
  • null
    Germany
  • null
    Romania
  • opt out
    Norway
  • opt out
    Iceland
  • opt out
    Northern-Ireland
  • opt out
    Great Britain
  • opt out
    Sweden
  • opt out
    Finland
  • opt out
    Estonia
  • opt out
    Latvia
  • opt out
    Poland
  • opt out
    Belgium
  • opt out
    Czechia
  • opt out
    Netherlands
  • opt out
    Slovakia
  • opt out
    Austria
  • opt out
    Luxembourg
  • opt out
    Hungary
  • opt out
    France
  • opt out
    Slovenia
  • opt out
    Croatia
  • opt out
    Bulgaria
  • opt out
    Italy
  • opt out
    Portugal
  • opt out
    Greece
  • opt out
    Spain
  • opt out
    Ireland
  • opt out
    Switzerland
  • null
    Denmark
  • null
    Lithuania
  • null
    Germany
  • null
    Romania
  • opt out
    Norway
  • opt out
    Iceland
  • opt out
    Northern-Ireland
  • opt out
    Great Britain
  • opt out
    Sweden
  • opt out
    Finland
  • opt out
    Estonia
  • opt out
    Latvia
  • opt out
    Poland
  • opt out
    Belgium
  • opt out
    Czechia
  • opt out
    Netherlands
  • opt out
    Slovakia
  • opt out
    Ireland
  • opt out
    Austria
  • opt out
    Luxembourg
  • opt out
    Hungary
  • opt out
    France
  • opt out
    Slovenia
  • opt out
    Croatia
  • opt out
    Bulgaria
  • opt out
    Italy
  • opt out
    Portugal
  • opt out
    Greece
  • opt out
    Spain
  • opt out
    Switzerland
Eurotransplant

Eurotransplant organ distribution

EUROTRANSPLANT: A coordination center for transplants from 8 European countries.

Leiden in Netherlands

Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungaria.

www.eurotransplant.org

EUROTRANSPLANT: A coordination center for transplants from 8 European countries.

Leiden in Netherlands

Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungaria.

www.eurotransplant.org

Problem: “… Despite such regulations, which are intended to ensure a certain balance between “import and export” of organs within Eurotransplant, Germany has always been a “net importer” of organs in recent years (10-30 more hearts, livers and kidneys transplanted in Germany than removed per organ) …”

Source: Eurotransplant and readable from the book Transplantationsmedizin

Eurotransplant-region (OPT-IN and OPT-OUT):

Eurotransplant.Raum

Source: Eurotransplant

Statistics from Eurotransplant on the kidney waiting list (at the end of the year) in Germany show clearly. Source: Statistics Eurotransplant.

“Here you can see how the number of waiting list patients (kidney donation) is continuously decreasing, although there are more and more waiting patients”

Fazit

Germany is not only alone in having negative numbers with the OPT-IN solution, but is also against the “opt-out solution” (OPT-OUT), which the other Eurotransplant countries successfully practice.
Why Germany obtains three organs from these countries and gives away one is extremely questionable, because in Germany this practice is also rejected because it restricts freedom and violates human dignity.