Abstract
Organ donation in Germany started to decline in 2010 and dropped to a 20-year low
of 797 organ donors in 2017. The rate of 9.7 organ donors per million population
is far below donor rates in other European countries. The Deutsche Stiftung
Organtransplantation (DSO, German Organ Procurement Organization) has been
concerned about this development for many years and, in cooperation with German
donor hospitals, has conducted extensive analyses to identify possible causes.
While the causes are multifarious, the DSO sees the improvement of the
identification and referral of potential organ donors in hospitals as a key
factor in enhancing organ donation rates.
Keywords Organ donation - transplant medicine - PMP - organ donors
