Camper week in Hanover: Focus on education about organ donation!

Camper week in Hanover: Focus on education about organ donation!

From May 19 to 24, 2025, the transplant officers from the Hannover Medical School (MHH) will tour northern Germany to provide information about the important topic of organ donation. As part of the event, known as “Camper Week for Organ Donation 2025”, information camper vans will be available at three central locations in Hanover on May 24th. These are located at the New Town Hall, the Sprengel Museum and at the MHH itself. The aim of this initiative is to raise awareness of organ donation and educate citizens about their options.

The activities take place in schools, at weekly markets and in hospitals. Dr. Frank Logemann, transplant officer at the MHH, emphasizes the importance of education and the need to make a personal decision in the organ donor register. Despite the introduction of a new organ donation register and the objection solution, many Germans do not document their attitude towards organ donation. Over 80 percent of the population generally have a positive attitude towards the topic, but a survey by the Federal Center for Health Education shows that a lack of knowledge and trust are the main obstacles.

Camper week information and locations

The exact times and locations for the “Camper Week for Organ Donation” in Hanover are as follows:

• Organspende-Info Meets Shopping: 10 bis 14 Uhr, Neues Rathaus Hannover
• Infopoint Organspende: 10 bis 14 Uhr, Medizinische Hochschule, Haupteingang
• Organspende-Info Meets Kunst: 10 bis 13 Uhr, Sprengel Museum

This initiative is also intended to draw attention to the nationwide “Organ Donation Day”, which takes place on June 7, 2025. The MHH is participating in the campaign by the Network of Transplantation Officers Region North e.V., which is providing three vehicles for the tour. This project is supported by transplant representatives from numerous northern German clinics.

Contradiction resolution and its meaning

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach sees the contradictory solution to increasing the organ donation rate as “no alternative” and is trying to push the issue forward at the political level. The decision-making system currently applies in Germany, in which organs can only be removed with express consent. Lauterbach is aware that the current regulation is not sufficient as over 8,000 people are waiting for a donor organ. He believes that the existing organ donor registers cannot solve the problem.

A legislative proposal to resolve the objection is already planned. This regulation would mean that everyone is considered an organ donor unless they expressly object. Critics, however, argue that Germany is losing potential donors as a result of the decision. A comparison with Spain, where the contradiction solution is practiced, shows that the donation rate there in 2022 was 48.9 donors per million inhabitants, while in Germany it was only 11.4.

However, statistics show that when it comes to the issue of organ donation rates, there is no significant difference between countries with opt-out and adjudicatory solutions. A comprehensive analysis showed that the switch to opt-out resulted in only marginal increases in organ donation rates in five countries. In Germany, the number of organ donations depends on many factors, including structural and social conditions.

The debate on organ donation is not just a question of legal regulation. A cultural change in society is also taking place. According to Axel Rahmel from the German Organ Transplantation Foundation, the contradiction solution could promote a fundamental willingness to donate organs among the population.

For further information about the “Camper Week for Organ Donation 2025”, those interested can visit the website of the Network of Transplantation Officers Region North e.V. To find out more about the objection solution, the daily news detailed insights into the current situation of organ donation in Germany.

Further information about the camper week can be found on the Hannover.de website.