In focus: Organ donation

International exchange on organ donation in Dresden

On September 30, 2025, we welcomed Dr. David Paredes-Zapata and Dr. Mauricio Galvão from the Donation & Transplantation Institute (DTI) at Dresden University Hospital.

Our research assistant Sepp Höhne represented the ZMI at the event.

The focus was on discussing the current situation of organ donation in Germany—and how we can work together to further improve the processes.

For years, the UKD has been one of Germany's leaders in donor identification and organ donation.

The reasons for this are:

- Close cooperation between transplant coordinators and the German Organ Transplantation Foundation (DSO)

- Establishment of continuous psychological support for relatives in the organ donation process

- Early detection of relevant cases through the use of DETECT

- Consistent prognosis assessment in all relevant cases

DETECT is a screening tool for detecting potentially irreversible brain failure. In line with its acronym, DETECTdetects patients in German intensive care units who are at risk of brain failure and who – if they have an organ donor card or the consent of their relatives and certain medical requirements are met – are eligible for organ donation.

It helps doctors identify relevant cases at an early stage. The open-source software was developed at the UKD's Data Integration Center (DIZ) in collaboration with Dresden University Hospital and the DSO. Today, it is already in use in many clinics throughout Germany.

This is a powerful example of how international cooperation, innovation, and commitment go hand in hand to improve processes and increase organ donations.

Further information can be found on the project website www.detect-iha.de.