After a slight upswing in the past year, the number of organ donations in Saxony-Anhalt seems to be falling significantly. Why is that?
Halle (dpa/sa) - In Saxony-Anhalt, the number of organ donors and donated organs increased last year. In 2021, organs were removed from 35 donors after their death, in 2020 there were 32 donors, and in 2019, the year before the pandemic, also 32 donors, as reported by the German Foundation for Organ Transplantation (DSO). The number of organs donated also increased: from 83 in 2019 to 99 in 2021.
At the end of April, 315 people were on the waiting list for a donor organ in Saxony-Anhalt, according to a DSO spokeswoman, referring to data from the Eurotransplant agency. Most often they need new kidneys and hearts.
However, the foundation reported a dramatic slump in organ donations nationwide for 2022 in April. According to this, 600 organs were transferred in German transplant centers in the first quarter - 194 fewer transplants than in the same period last year, which corresponds to a decrease of 24 percent. In Saxony-Anhalt, too, the number of donated organs fell significantly to 12 in the first quarter. In the first quarter of 2021, 35 organs were donated.
The DSO suspects that work overload in the clinics could be a reason for the slump: "There is a high probability that fewer organ donations could be realized as a result than would have been possible under normal circumstances." The number of no votes after the consultations also increased. Another reason is that people who died with a corona infection were excluded from organ donation.
In Saxony-Anhalt, patients received a total of 47 organs last year - 5 fewer than in 2020. 47 organs were also transplanted in 2019.
This Saturday, June 4th, is organ donation day. The organizers want to motivate people all over Germany to make a decision about organ donation. According to a nationwide survey by the Federal Center for Health Education, 44 percent of those surveyed documented their decision in an ID card or living will. Of them, 73 percent agree to an organ donation. Around 4,000 people between the ages of 14 and 75 were surveyed from January to February 2022
The placement of organs donated postmortem is carried out via the international placement agency Eurotransplant. All patients from the eight member countries who are waiting for one or more donor organs are registered there.
