Juliane Brauner stands at the beginning of a bridge that crosses a mountain stream.  Copyright: Juliane Brauner

Organ donation

The Patient Advisory Board of the Transplant Centre is committed to

Organ Donation Day 2022, June 4, 2022

The Patient Advisory Board of the Transplant Centre is committed to

Organ shortage in Germany

Patient Advisory Council urges implementation of six measures

Photo of a letter
Copyright: MHH/Transplant Centre

The Patient Advisory Council of the MHH Transplant Centre has taken Organ Donation Day and the dramatic developments in organ donation as an opportunity to send an open letter to the Federal Government Commissioner for Patients, Stefan Schwartze, asking for his support.

The six members of the Advisory Board are calling for the implementation of "Six Action Points for Organ Donation" , some of which have already been enshrined in law, including the appointment of active transplantation officers and comprehensive public information. Better legal protection for living donation is also called for.

 


CORRECT. IMPORTANT. VITALLY IMPORTANT.

Juliane Brauner, Member of the Patient Advisory Board of the MHH Transplant Centre

Juliane Brauner stands at the beginning of a bridge that crosses a mountain stream. Copyright: Juliane Brauner
Juliane Brauner hiking. Copyright: Juliane Brauner

 

 

 

At the age of 9, I had a kidney transplant at the MHH. That was a stroke of luck for me.

I believe that everyone should find a point of view on the subject of organ donation. You should tell your relatives about your decision - no matter what it is.

Don't take your organs to heaven.
Heaven knows we need them here.


Organ donation: Joy and sorrow are so close together

Kerstin Ronnenberg, Member of the Patient Advisory Board of the MHH Transplant Centre

Kerstin Ronnenberg on the left before transplantation with a breathing tube in her nose. Legal: Kerstin in a recent photo years after the transplant. She looks perfectly healthy. Copyright: Kerstin Ronnenberg
Kerstin Ronnenberg before (left) and after transplantation. Copyright: Kerstin Ronnenberg

It's been almost 23 years since I filled out my organ donor card. There was this good feeling of being able to do something useful even after my death. Why waste my organs when others could still use them?

At the time, however, I didn't expect that I myself would one day be in the position of needing a new lung. The hope and fear as I struggled through life every day, waiting for THE redemptive call: "We have a suitable lung for you!"

And yet the joys and sorrows of organ donation are so close together: someone has died, while I can rejoice that a suitable organ has been found for me.

My donor will always be my personal hero! Because he/she or their relatives have chosen an act of charity. An act of charity that has already given me four more years of life. And I will do everything I can, my hero, to ensure that many more will follow!

 

 


Our son Tom is alive thanks to an organ donation

Stefanie Bartel, Member of the Patient Advisory Board of the MHH Transplant Centre

Copyright: Stefanie Bartel
Tom before (left) and after his lung transplant. Copyright: Stefanie Bartel

 

 

 

Tom received a donor lung transplant at the age of 2.5.

It's hard to put into words what organ donation means to us as a family. We are infinitely grateful for this precious gift!

We would like to encourage and call on everyone to consider the topic of organ donation, to talk to their relatives about it and to make a decision.