The most important questions and answersThis is what you should know about organ donation!

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These are kidney, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas and small intestine. Tissues such as cornea or bones can also be transplanted. However, individual organs can also be excluded.

According to current information from the German Organ Transplantation Foundation (DSO), there are currently almost 8,200 people nationwide on the waiting list for an organ. Hundreds of patients' health deteriorate so dramatically every year that a transplant is no longer possible or they die while waiting because a suitable organ was not found in time.

Organ donation cards are available free of charge in many pharmacies, doctor's offices, hospitals and also from health insurance companies. They can also be ordered free of charge by post from the Federal Institute for Public Health (formerly the Federal Center for Health Education, BZgA) or the German Organ Transplantation Foundation (DSO). In some cases it is also possible to fill out the ID card online, print it out or download it as a PDF.

The Organ donation registry is a central, digital directory. Here you can legally record your personal decision for or against organ and tissue donation. The register was introduced to provide quick clarity in an emergency and to relieve relatives in an exceptional situation. An entry can be changed or deleted at any time.

Registration is possible from the age of 16 and is free of charge. It takes place online via the official organ donation register. For secure access, you need the online identification function (eID) of your ID card with PIN and ID app or the health ID of the health insurance app.

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Organ donation numbers in 2025 at their highest level since 2012

After the low point in 2017, when organ donation numbers fell to their lowest level in 20 years, they initially rose again in 2018 and largely stabilized in the following years. In 2025, a total of 985 people donated organs after their death – 32 more than in 2024. This means that organ donation in Germany reached its highest level since 2012.

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According to the DSO, a total of 3,256 organs were transferred after postmortem donation from Germany and the Eurotransplant network in the 43 German transplant centers last year, 243 more than in 2024. This helped 3,150 patients, but at the end of 2025, 8,199 people in Germany were still waiting for a donor organ.

Organ donations often still fail due to a lack of consent. Then relatives have to decide without knowing the wishes of the deceased. “The majority of people in Germany are fundamentally positive about organ donation, but have not recorded their personal decision,” explained Axel Rahmel, Medical Director of the DSO. Against this background, the newly initiated discussion about the objection regulation is seen as an important signal.

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Positive attitudes towards organ donation are growing

According to a survey by the then Federal Center for Health Education (now renamed the Federal Institute for Public Health) from February 2025, the positive attitude towards the topic of organ donation is more widespread in Germany than ever before. According to this, 85 percent of those surveyed have a generally positive attitude towards the topic, eight percent negatively.

62 percent said they had made a decision to donate organs and tissues. 45 percent of those surveyed documented their decision. 16 percent had made a decision but had not yet recorded it in writing.

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This is possible, for example, with an organ donor card or in a living will. Since March 2024, potential donors have also been able to register their willingness to donate in a central register for organ donations. The portal can be found at www.organspende-register.de. Submitting a declaration for or against organ donation is also possible via the health insurance companies’ apps.

Other countries have an objection solution, but Germany does not yet have it

No, the decision for or against organ donation is still voluntary in Germany. In addition to the determination of brain death, the prerequisite for organ or tissue donation is that the deceased agreed to the organ donation during their lifetime.

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Attempts to find a solution to the contradiction have so far failed. With the objection solution, all adults capable of consent would be considered potential donors – unless they object during their lifetime. Such regulations already exist in a number of other European countries, including Austria and Spain.

No, according to the DSO, the oldest organ donor in Germany to date was 98 years old and her liver was successfully transplanted. Only a few pre-existing conditions generally rule out organ donation. These are acute malignant tumor diseases or infections that cannot be treated. For all other illnesses, the doctors decide based on their findings. (abl,uvo)

Sources used: German Organ Transplantation Foundation, Organ Donation Register, dpa, afp