Overview
- Germany recorded 985 deceased organ donors in 2025, a 3.4% increase from 2024, according to the DSO.
- Roughly 3,000 organs were available for transplant last year while about 8,200 people remained on the national waiting list.
- Hessian health state secretary Sonja Optendrenk supports introducing an opt-out system that treats organ donation as the default unless individuals object.
- The DSO calls on residents to document their decisions with a donor card or in an advance directive to reduce pressure on relatives at the time of death.
- The DSO and the Landesärztekammer Hessen held a Frankfurt event featuring recipients and donor families, with identities kept confidential under German law that permits anonymized thank-you letters since 2019.