The European Day for Organ, Tissue and Cell Donation, also called European Donation Day (EDD), is a beacon of hope for those in need of a life-saving or life-changing donation.
Everyone can help make someone else’s life better with a gift of hope.
Find out why this is so important and how you can participate.
There are so many reasons to hope
The possibility to use human organs, tissues and cells to treat patients is one of the great medical success stories of modern times, offering major therapeutic benefits and improvements to quality of life. In many cases, it is the only treatment that can restore essential functions, such as sight, or save patients facing end-stage organ failure.
The challenge is a formidable one
Demand for transplantable organs, tissues and cells still far exceeds supply, with terrible consequences for millions of people worldwide just like you, just like anyone else who wants to live their life. Tens of thousands of new patients are added on waiting lists each year in Council of Europe member states. Far more than those who receive a transplant. Find the latest numbers in the Newsletter Transplant.
How to get involved
Make that one decision: You can save or improve the lives of many others, even after your death by simply speaking to your relatives and friends about your personal choice concerning organ, tissue and cell donation. You can even encourage them to say yes to giving the invaluable gift of donation!
Consider helping others during your lifetime as well by registering to donate your progenitor cells, found in your bone marrow or peripheral blood, which can be used for the treatment of blood disorders and immune diseases. When a baby is born, you can also donate the umbilical cord blood, which is no longer needed by the baby and is also rich in progenitor cells, and/or the placenta. You can also help others fulfil their dream of becoming parents by donating oocytes, sperm or excess embryos you will no longer use when you no longer pkan to have more children.
Share information about organ donation with friends and family and on social media platforms. Follow us, join our social media campaign and help us reach as many people as possible.
Participate in events
Attend EDD events and activities in your community or online. Find information on activities in your country.
Volunteer
Offer your time to organisations working on organ donation awareness and support.
Discover organ, tissues and cells donation through the stories of Anna, George, Daniel and Julia
A movement born of compassion
EDD is born of hope, compassion and a profound understanding that every organ donor can play a crucial role in someone else’s story, but that this message of hope needs to be heard to achieve positive change. The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), a part of the Council of Europe, initiated EDD to raise awareness about the transformative, life-saving power of organ donation in 1996. Since then, this annual celebration honouring donors and their families has been reminding us not only that behind every statistic is a human being, a family and a community transformed by the gift of life, but that we can all make a real difference and be part of the solution.
A different host country every year
In 2025, EDD is hosted by Greece, with events organised in Kalamata in co-operation with the Hellenic Transplant Organization . A meeting of the European Committee on Organ Transplantation (CD-P-TO) , the steering committee in charge of organ transplantation activities at the EDQM, will take place on 9 and 10 October in Kalamata, along with local awareness campaigns and public engagement activities. In Athens, chosen landmarks will be illuminated in green – the EDD colour – and running events will take place in Athens. A scientific conference is scheduled for 11 October, which will focus on the global and national transplantation landscape, the transplantation situation in Greece, ethical perspectives and donor–recipient stories, and strategies to increase awareness and participation.
EDQM’s work on organ, tissue and cell donation and transplantation
EDD fits in quite naturally with the work of the EDQM, which is active in many areas touching on substances of human origin in general: blood, organs, tissues and cells. The EDQM:
works to harmonise technical and ethical standards for healthcare professionals and policy makers, further facilitating co-operation and collaboration, through its benchmark guides on the quality and safety of blood, organs and tissues and cells;
develops and disseminates programmes and tools for blood, organ and tissue and cell establishments to help them develop and verify systems designed to achieve the best outcomes;
participates in the collection, analysis and publication of essential data on transplantation practices and trends worldwide through the annual Newsletter Transplant, the Network of National Focal Points on Travel for Transplantation (NETTA) and its Registry of International Travel for Transplantation Activity (RITTA);
publishes information booklets for the general public on transplantation issues, ranging from fertility preservation to how transplant recipients can maintain good health.
Guide to the quality and safety of organs for transplantation - 9th Edition (2025)
Transplant medicine and transplantation have progressed in recent decades in a way that nobody could have imagined before, yet demand for transplantable organs still far exceeds supply – with important consequences for health. The transplantation of organs offers major therapeutic benefits and improvements to quality of life and is, in many cases, the only life-saving treatment for end-stage organ failure. As with all substances of human origin, transplantation of human organs entails a risk of disease transmission. Comprehensive quality systems and appropriate donor screening and selection must therefore be in place to guarantee the best possible transplantation outcomes. The Guide to the quality and safety of organs for transplantation (Organ Guide) contributes to meeting this need.
The 9th Edition of the Organ Guide collates state-of-the-art information to provide an indispensable overview of the most recent advancements in the field and technical guidance to ensure the safety and quality of human organs intended for transplantation, with the ultimate goal of improving successful and safe organ transplantation rates. Easy access to this information is essential for all stakeholders concerned – professionals involved in identifying possible organ donors, co-ordinators managing living or deceased donation pathways, those responsible for the allocation and clinical use of human organs, quality managers within the process, and health authorities responsible for donation and transplantation programmes.
The paper version is available for purchase from theEDQM Store.
Guide to the quality and safety of tissues and cells for human applications - 5th Edition (2022)
The Guide to the quality and safety of tissues and cells for human application (the “Tissues and Cells Guide”) provides readers with a comprehensive overview of the most recent advances in the field, as well as technical guidance to ensure the quality and safety of human tissues and cells for human application. It is intended for professionals involved in identifying potential donors; transplant co-ordinators managing the process of donation after death; bone marrow and cord blood collection centres; fertility clinics; tissue establishments processing and storing tissues and cells; testing laboratories; organisations responsible for human application; inspectors auditing the establishments; and health authorities responsible for tissues and cells for human application.
The 5th Edition of the Tissues and Cells Guide provides fully revised information and guidance – aligned with current scientific knowledge, expert opinion and the results of many international projects – to optimise quality and minimise risks associated with the use of human tissues and cells. It provides professionals with the guidance necessary to improve the rate of successful clinical applications of tissues and cells. The ethical principles and guidelines relevant in the context of tissue and cell donation and related human applications are also addressed.
The paper version is available for purchase from the EDQM WebStore.
Transplantation events training resources
Over the years, the EDQM has organised several webinars on a variety of topics relevant to organ, tissue and cell donation and transplantation. They provide the best available scientific data to support professionals worldwide, increase the safety of donated tissues and minimise risks for staff working in donation centres and tissue establishments.
Carefully prepared by the European Committee on Organ Transplantation, these booklets are aimed at helping families, donors and parents, and provide independent and scientifically grounded information. These titles are available in English and French.
For more information, contact the organ donation and transplantation institution in your country.
Learn more by reading the Organ Guide information leaflet (PDF).
The paper version is available for purchase from the EDQM Store.
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