The German Society of Nephrology (DGfN) supports a Europe-wide initiative of the European Kidney Health Alliance (EKHA) and other professional societies. They call on the European Commission to launch the second EU Action Plan on Organ Donation and Transplantation. In addition, the alliance is to translate the EU Council decisions on this topic adopted in 2024 into concrete political measures. The background is the ongoing organ shortage in Europe.

In Germany, around 8500 people are currently waiting for a donor organ, most of them for a kidney. A kidney transplant is the only therapy that makes it possible to live without dialysis. In Germany, about 100,000 people receive dialysis treatment for end-stage renal disease. The average waiting time for a donor organ is up to ten years.

Dialysis saves lives, but only incompletely replaces kidney function. In the long term, the health, quality of life and life expectancy of those affected deteriorate. At the end of last year, 8199 people in Germany were waiting for a donor organ. Kidney transplants account for over 60 percent of all transplants. People die every day because no suitable organ is available in time.

The voluntary organ donor register introduced in March 2024 has not yet significantly reduced the shortage. So far, only a good 461,000 people have registered their decision there.

The ECHA initiative is therefore addressed to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE). Priorities include coordination and capacity building in transplantation, harmonised European data structures, education and awareness-raising, and research and innovation on organ preservation, regenerative medicine and prevention of organ failure.

The DGfN also calls for the introduction of an opt-out solution in Germany in order to improve access to transplantation. It expressly welcomes the fact that the Bundesrat introduced a corresponding bill in the Bundestag in November 2025.

In addition to improving transplant access, the DGfN is committed to consistent prevention of kidney disease, early detection and slowing down the progression of the disease. To this end, it calls for the establishment of a German Center for Kidney Health (DZNG). The aim is to ensure that fewer people will be dependent on dialysis or transplantation in the future.

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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