Corona charged to all of us - much more difficult the Situation is for people waiting for a donor organ. Sina Jürgensen is one of them.

Frankfurt/Sylt (Reuters) - Sina Jürgensens life was before the pandemic is not easy: The 36-Year-old waiting for a kidney on the donor, for the past seven years, several times a week for dialysis.

The Coronavirus has her life more together purr. "As a risk patient, I've isolated me," she says on the phone. "I hope every day that a call comes in that I'll be transplanted and the week more than three days of normal life for me."

Corona is an unknown opponent

The blonde young woman lives on the island of Sylt. Since the island was re-opened for visitors, it has a single contact: your friend. Even with her mother on the phone only friends she sees only on the Internet. When she leaves the house, she wears a mask and gloves - as well as her boyfriend, who works in the restaurant. When he comes home, he leaves his clothes in front of the door, to the Local, he moves for safety's sake, a visor on the mask.

Maybe that's an exaggeration, she thinks sometimes. "But as waiting lists, patient I'm particularly vulnerable. I don't know how my body with an infection would be done. Would I survive this?" Health challenges is accustomed to Sina Jürgensen, "but Corona is an unknown opponent". With only 29 years of age, your organs, why, failed, was never clarified. For three months she was held in Hamburg in the ICU on life until after most of the organs working, except for the kidneys.

dialysis was "a pain," she says. The procedure lasts from 6.45 am to 12.45 PM. Before you feel bad. "I feel like my body is slowly poisoned. I will always be flabby and weaker." The dialysis itself no longer was "like, long hours of Jogging: One thinks, now I can, but you have to run." Later you feel, "when I would get a flu - pain in the limbs, Nausea, sometimes a fever". The next day it will slowly get better.

So your life is focused on three days in the week - on Sunday you will not always feel so bad that you can do a lot. On the good days, you want to give "the disease as little space as possible". She works part-time in the accounting, of course, in the home office. The give her the feeling of being "part of society". She has a dog and, more recently, even a horse. To be outside in nature helps her "to keep me fit," she says. "After almost seven years, I'm still trying to live in the moment."

No decline in organ donors by the pandemic

such As Sina Jürgensen according to the specifications of the German society of organ transplantation (DSO) of about 9000 people in Germany. According to the DSO, the Corona-crisis has worsened the Situation of the patients on the waiting list previously. In January and February, the number of the post-mortem was (after death) organ donors significantly over the previous year and even in March and April, it had come so far, "to a significant decline in organ donation in Germany", says the Medical Board of the DSO, Axel Rahmel.

From January until the end of April 2020 there was a nationwide 330 post-mortem organ donors. 2019 there were during the same period, 296. "The development of the in many other European countries differs," says Rahmel. From Italy, a decline in organ donation by 30 per cent, was reported from Spain by over 50 percent.

Also the concern of many people on the waiting list, a transplant could fail because of a lack of intensive capacity, is not fulfilled according to the DSO so far. "According to our experience in the past few weeks, the Removal of think hospitals continue to organ donation. Organ donors continue to be reported, and organ transplants continue to take place."

On 6. June is the national day of organ donation is. For the first Time in 37 years there will be no Live events. Instead, as planned, in the hall of the open day only takes place online. It is planned, among other things, an action named "Gift of years of life", for the organ recipient to upload a photo of yourself with a sign that the number of them have given years of life shows.

Failed contradiction solution

the beginning of 2020, a legislative initiative had failed, the donations would have improved after the Conviction of the advocates of the opportunities for more organ: the so-called contradiction solution. So everyone had come as an organ donor in question, would not have objected to it previously.

among the doctors, the regret up to today, the President of the state medical chamber of Hesse, Edgar Pinkowski. "Even in times of Corona-pandemic, we need to remind people, the life of an organ transplant depends on it," he said before the day of the organ donation. "I appeal to every Individual, through the personal willingness to donate to think and hold, hopefully, a positive decision in writing. The only way the rescue can succeed, of many thousands".

The contradiction solution was for Sina Jürgensen, "a light that failed "a disappointment". And then Corona came too. Your first reaction is: "Please don't wait any longer!" She wishes "that every man thinks at least once about what he would do if he himself or a lover, would be instructed person close to a transplant."

DSO

the day of the organ donation