More organ donors and organ transplants in Saxony in 2024

In Saxony, the number of organ donors and transplants is on the rise again. According to the German Organ Transplantation Foundation (DSO), 72 people across the state donated one or more organs after their death last year, six more than in 2022. At 17.8, the number of organ donors per million inhabitants remained well above the national average of 11.4 - and also above the previous year's figure.

While the number of organs donated has remained at roughly the same level since 2022 - 182 in 2024 - the trend for donors and transplants is upwards. At 72, the number of donors increased by six compared to 2023 and by 15 compared to 2022, while the number of transplants rose from 121 and 133 in the previous two years to 153.

372 people on the waiting list for organs

According to Eurotransplantat, 372 people in Bavaria were waiting at the end of May for the transfer of 384 organs, which in many cases would be life-saving. At 264, most of them need one or two kidneys, 51 a liver and 35 a heart from another person. 17 patients are hoping for a replacement for their lungs and 18 for their pancreas.

In the first four months of this year, 32 organ donors have been recorded, the same as in the same period last year. By the end of May, 96 organs had been donated, 20 more than in the first quarter of 2024, and there were also 16 more transplants - 76.

Life-saving organ donations are only permitted in Germany with express consent. In order to encourage more citizens to make a concrete decision about donation after their own death, more information is being provided. Every year since 1963, Organ Donation Day has been held on the first Saturday in June to commemorate all organ donors, thank their relatives - and promote organ donation.