The diagnosis: brain death. Relatives often have to make a decision as quickly as possible: organ donation - yes or no? This is why it is important to make the decision yourself during your lifetime, in order to relieve your relatives of this difficult emotional decision.
Pupils from Freiberg's Oscar-Paret-Schule, Ludwigsburg's Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium and Sachsenheim's Eichwald-Realschule watched the feature film "Repairing the Living". Recipients of a donor organ celebrated their organ birthday and discussed the topics of organ donation and transplantation in greater depth during the subsequent discussion round.
In the film "Repairing the Living" by French director Katell Quillévéré, 17-year-old Simon is brain dead after a tragic accident. His parents now suddenly have to make a decision with far-reaching consequences that pushes them to their limits. They have to decide whether Simon would have been willing to donate his organs. At the same time, the film also tells the story of a mother of two who has no chance of survival without a donor heart. "The movie was very moving," as one student described it.
Afterwards, five recipients of donor organs - liver transplant recipients Jutta Riemer, Josef Theiss, Heinz Suhling and Günter Wanner as well as heart transplant recipient Kerstin Reichert - told their stories and, together with Dr. Uschi Traub, Head of Health Promotion at the District Office, provided information about the new legal regulations in Germany. Questions such as "Can you be too old to donate an organ?" were clarified. - This is not the case. Anyone, regardless of age, can donate organs. The students also asked personal questions such as "Did you think about organ donation before you fell ill?" or "How do you feel about a foreign organ?". Jutta Riemer sees her liver as a gift, for Kerstin Reichert life without an artificial heart was a great relief. Josef Theiss had a donor card long before his transplant. Together they celebrated 65 years of organ birthdays. The organizers encouraged the students to bring the topic of organ donation to their families.
If you have any questions about organ donation, please contact: Dr. Uschi Traub: 07141 144-2020, gesundheitsfoerderung[at]landkreis-ludwigsburg.de
Background information:
An amendment to the Transplantation Act came into force on April 1, 2019. This means that transplant officers have more time and authority and hospitals receive more money for organ transplants. The aim of these changes is to increase the number of organ donations and thus save more lives. In addition, organ recipients now have the option of writing an anonymous letter to the donor's relatives in which they can express their thanks.
In 2018, 955 people across Germany donated their organs after their death. This means that the number of organ donors per million inhabitants rose from 9.7 in 2017 to 11.4 in 2018. 3,959 organs were transplanted in 2018 (with living donations).
In 2018, 46 percent of consent to organ donation was based on the donor's presumed will, 25 percent on verbal will and only 18 percent on written will. Every day, 11 transplants are performed, but three people still die every day while on the waiting list. The risk that someone will need an organ donation is three times greater than the chance of being an organ donor after death (1:7,500 and 1:20,000 respectively). Contrary to the perception of many, the most common cause of death for those who become organ donors is cerebral hemorrhage (54 percent). Accidents are the cause of death in only 13 percent of cases.
