European Day for Organ Donation and Transplantation
Demand for organ transplantation is increasing all over the world, but there are not enough organs available to meet the need. This shortage of organs is now the limiting factor in treating many patients with chronic organ failure and has led to high numbers of patients on waiting lists.
In 2021, 36 000 patients received a transplant and 41 000 new patients are registered on waiting lists. That’s nearly five new patients added to a transplant waiting list every hour.
Thousands of patients on waiting lists. A chronic shortage of organs, tissues and cells. The result: in 2021, an average of 20 patients died every day while waiting for an organ transplant in Europe.
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Why a European Organ Donation Day (EODD)?
Sponsored by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and HealthCare (EDQM) of the Council of Europe in a different country every year since 1996, the European Day for Organ Donation and Transplantation (EODD) aims to raise public awareness of the need for organ, tissue and cell donation and promote the principle of voluntary and non-remunerated donation.
Organ, tissue and cell transplantation is one of the great medical success stories of modern times, offering major therapeutic benefits and improvements to quality of life. It is also, in many cases, the only treatment capable of restoring essential functions, such as sight, or of saving patients suffering from end-stage organ failure. Demand for transplantable organs, tissues and cells still far exceeds supply, however, with important consequences for health. The key figures from Newsletter Transplant, the annual worldwide survey on transplantation, make clear just how the dire the situation is for thousands of patients who suffer in silence.
The 2022 Edition of the EODD will be hosted by Poland on 8 October 2022. More information on the activities can be found on www.eodd2022.eu
Institutions for organ donation and transplantation in our Member States
Austria
Belgium
The Federal Public Service (FPS) – Organ Donation
Bulgaria
Executive Agency Medical Supervision, Ministry of Health
Croatia
Croatian Society of Transplantation Medicine
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Koordinacni Stredisco Transplantaci
Denmark
Dansk Center for Organdonation
Estonia
Eesti Kudede ja Organite Transplantatsiooni Ühing (EKOTÜ)
Eurotransplant International Foundation
(Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Slovenia)
Eurotransplant International Foundation
Finland
France
Georgia
Georgian Association of Transplantologists
Germany
Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation (DSO)
Deutsche Transplantationsgesellschaft (DTG)
Greece
Hungary
Hungarian National Blood Transfusion Service, Organ Coordination Office
Iceland
Ireland
Health Service Executive - Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland
Italy
A.I.D.O. Associazone Italiana per la donazione di organi, tessuti e cellule
Latvia
Latvian Transplantation Center
Lithuania
National Transplant Bureau under the Ministry of Health
Luxembourg
Ministère Direction de la Santé
Malta
Netherlands
NTS Nederlandse Transplantatie Stichting
Norway
Poland
Polish Transplant Coordinating Center Poltransplant
Portugal
Instituto Português de Sangue e da Transplantação
Republic of Moldova
Romania
Agentia Nationala de Transplant
Scandiatransplant
(Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden)
Slovak Republic
National transplantation organization
Slovenia
Spain
Organizacion Nacional de Trasplantes
Sweden
Socialstyrelsen – National Donation Center
Switzerland
Türkiye
United Kingdom
Guide to the quality and safety of organs for transplantation - 8th edition (November 2018)
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 8th 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 electronic version of the Guide can be downloaded for free online. The paper version is available for purchase from the EDQM Store.
Guide to the quality and safety of tissues and cells for human applications - 4th Edition (2019)
The Guide to the quality and safety of tissues and cells for human applications (the “Tissues and cells guide”) 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.
Learn more by downloading the Tissues and cells guide information leaflet (PDF).
Transplantation events training resources
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EDQM has organised several webinars to discuss experiences, respond to questions on the impact of COVID-19 on tissue donation and transplantation and provide the best available scientific data to support professionals worldwide and increase the safety of donated tissues and minimise risks for staff working in donation centres and tissue establishments.
Presentations
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Share and support EODD on social media
Follow us, like us and share the messages of the EODD 2022 awareness campaign in favour of organ donation on:
Carefully prepared by the European Committee on Organ Transplantation (CD-P-TO), these booklets are aimed at helping families, donors and parents, and provide independent and scientifically grounded information.
NEW BOOKLET “Fertility preservation, a guide for people facing an illness or life events that may affect their fertility” (May 2021) (English only)
“Donation of oocytes, a guide for women to support informed decisions” (August 2018)
This booklet is also available in French.
“Exercise your way to better post-transplant health” (July 2016)
This booklet is also available in French.
“Umbilical cord blood banking” - 2nd edition (2016).
This booklet is also available in French.