Organ Donation: Saxony Ranks Second Nationwide for Donor Rate

Saxony has achieved the second-highest organ donor rate nationwide in Germany, according to recent figures from the German Foundation for Organ Transplantation (DSO). The region recorded 21.6 organ donors per million inhabitants in the first five months of 2026, surpassing the national average of 13.1. This places Saxony just behind Hamburg, which leads with 35.0 donors per million. In total, 342 individuals in Saxony are currently awaiting a donor organ. During the January-to-May period, 36 deceased individuals in Saxony donated organs, four more than in the comparable period of 2025. Saxony, along with neighboring states Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, forms the DSO's Eastern region, which has consistently reported above-average donation rates. Axel Rahmel, the foundation's medical director, emphasized in January that if the entire country matched the donation rates of this region, the situation for patients on waiting lists would significantly improve. However, the data also reveals a slight decrease in the number of organs retrieved in Saxony, falling to 91 from 96 in the same period last year. Similarly, the number of transplanted organs dropped to 64, down from 76 in the first five months of 2025.

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If nationwide, as many organ donations were realized as in this region, the situation for waiting patients would be noticeably better.