Counselling, support and an interdisciplinary team concept
Many years of experience in organ transplantation
Organ transplantation is an important focus of Heidelberg University Hospital, whose interdisciplinary activities we combine under the name "Transplant Centre". Together we provide patients and their relatives with a modern competence centre for the transfer of organs.
As one of the most traditional German transplant centres, we draw on a wealth of experience. Since 1967, more than 3100 kidney transplants have been performed in Heidelberg. Liver transplantation, introduced in 1987, celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2022 with over 1300 transplants. Special programmes for heart, lung and pancreas followed in the early nineties. Germany's largest department for bone marrow transplantation has also been affiliated with our centre in the meantime.
In order to guarantee patients the highest level of counselling, care and professional competence, the Centre has been restructured. An interdisciplinary team concept and new gentle transplantation surgical procedures are at the centre of the clinical work.
We do a lot
... but it's not enough yet!
The transplantation of organs and tissues has now established itself as an integral part of medical care and can save or significantly improve the lives of many seriously ill people. The TRANSPLANT CENTRE Heidelberg also feels responsible for informing the population about the possibilities of donating organs and tissues as well as the requirements for removal and transfer.
In Germany, organ donation is considered a joint task and requires close cooperation between all parties involved. The aim is to help as many patients on the waiting list as possible by transplanting them with a suitable donor organ. Currently, 8,496 people in Germany are waiting for a donor organ, with the highest demand for donor kidneys. In 2022, a total of 3,372 organs were transplanted in Germany, of which every sixth organ came from a living donation. Despite all the good will, 743 people on the waiting list died in 2022.
Author: Prof. Dr. med. Martin Zeier (Nephrologist)
The figures mentioned here in the counter refer exclusively to post-mortem organ donation.
Post-mortem donor organs 2022
41
Pancreas
248
Lungs
312
hearts
671
livers
1388
Kidneys
Organs donated post-mortem in Germany in 2022 Source: dso.de