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Donation after circulatory death could increase transplants in Germany

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Research area:medicine-clinicalclinical-methods

What the study found

The study found that introducing donation after circulatory death (DCD, organ donation after cardiac arrest) could increase liver and kidney transplant numbers in Germany. The size of the increase varied by the country-based scenario modeled, and the authors say DCD alone would probably not solve organ scarcity.

Why the authors say this matters

The authors conclude that DCD could help make more organs available. They also state that its effect would depend on accompanying structural measures and societal factors.

What the researchers tested

The researchers analyzed trends in organ donations in nine European countries after DCD was introduced and projected those trends onto Germany's documented organ donation numbers from 2011 to 2023. They then modeled the effect on liver and kidney transplantation using the Eurotransplant simulators ELAS and ETKidney.

What worked and what didn't

Compared with a control scenario without DCD, the largest modeled increase in liver transplantation in 2023 was in the Spain scenario, followed by Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and France. For kidney transplantation, the largest increases were also in the Spain scenario, followed by Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and France; the Austrian scenario did not increase either liver or kidney transplantation.

What to keep in mind

These are modeled scenarios, not a direct test of a DCD program in Germany. The abstract says the effect would depend on structural and societal factors, but it does not provide further detail on limitations in the available summary.

Key points

  • Donation after circulatory death (DCD) was modeled as an added organ-donation indication for Germany.
  • The largest projected gains in both liver and kidney transplantation came from the Spain scenario.
  • The Austrian scenario showed no increase in either liver or kidney transplantation.
  • In many scenarios, waiting lists, MELD scores, and dialysis time at transplantation were reduced alongside more transplants.
  • The authors conclude DCD alone would probably not solve organ scarcity.

Disclosure

Research title:
Donation after circulatory death could increase transplants in Germany
Authors:
Friedrich Alexander von Samson-Himmelstjerna, Hans de Ferrante, Christoph B Niehus, Agita Strēlniece, Nassim Kakavand, Sarah-Yasmin Thomsen, R. Kim Guenther, Steffen Augsberg, Serge Vogelaar, Erwin de Buijzer, Ineke Tieken, Roland Schmitt, Benedikt Kolbrink, Kevin Schulte
Institutions:
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Eurotransplant, Eurotransplant, Eurotransplant, Eurotransplant, Eurotransplant, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Kiel, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Kiel, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Kiel, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Kiel, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Kiel, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Kiel, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Kiel, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Kiel, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Publication date:
2026-04-08
DOI:
10.3238/arztebl.m2026.0004
OpenAlex record:
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AI provenance: This post was generated by gpt-5.4-mini (OpenAI). The original authors did not write or review this post.

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