German Society for Tissue Transplantation

What German Society for Tissue Transplantation does

The German Society for Tissue Transplantation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gewebetransplantation, gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mbH) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Hannover that operates the largest tissue donation and transplantation network in Germany. Founded in 1997 as DSO-G and operating independently as DGFG since 2007, it coordinates the procurement, processing, storage, and distribution of human tissue grafts on a non-commercial basis. The organization serves as an intermediary between donor hospitals and transplanting institutions, ensuring regulatory compliance under the German Tissue Act and supervision by the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI).

DGFG operates 14 tissue banks across 32 German locations, working with more than 100 donor hospitals and approximately 200 transplanting institutions. Its portfolio includes corneal transplants (with the proprietary LaMEK lamellar corneal graft procedure and a LaMEK preloaded variant approved by PEI), cardiovascular tissues (heart valves, blood vessels), amniotic membrane grafts, and musculoskeletal tissues. Since 2007, the network has facilitated more than 85,000 corneal donations. In 2023, it coordinated 3,475 tissue donations (a 12% year-over-year increase) and distributed 7,503 transplants, including 5,003 corneal grafts, supplying roughly half of all corneal transplants performed in Germany.

The business model is reimbursement-driven: hospitals, surgeons, and statutory health insurers pay uniform, regulator-influenced fees for each tissue graft supplied, while the underlying coordination and infrastructure are funded through donations, grants, and contributions from five public hospital shareholders. DGFG also engages in international development cooperation — notably a GIZ-funded partnership with the Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital (SCEH) in India and a knowledge-exchange program with South Africa's SATiBA tissue banking initiative — and participates in global tissue-banking associations (WUTBA, GAEBA, EATCB, EDQM, EEBA).

Name

German Society for Tissue Transplantation

Legal name

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gewebetransplantation – gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mbH

Website

https://gewebenetzwerk.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

DGFG (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gewebetransplantation) is Germany's largest non-profit tissue donation and transplantation network, coordinating procurement, processing, and distribution of corneal, cardiovascular, amniotic, and musculoskeletal grafts across 32 sites to over 100 donor hospitals and 200 transplant institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tissue Banking and Transplantation Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Blood, Organ & Tissue Donation Organizations (BPAGACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cardiovascular & Vascular Regeneration (vascular grafts, angiogenesis) (HLAAAGAJ)

Keywords

• Tissue transplantation services
• Corneal graft coordination
• Human tissue banking
• Tissue donation network
• Amniotic membrane supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Hanover

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Tissue transplant reimbursement: DGFG refinances itself through reimbursement rates of tissue transplants allocated for transplantation. These rates cover costs for tissue donation in hospitals, processing in tissue banks, and procurement costs. DGFG receives neither ongoing subsidies from health insurance companies nor from the public sector for public relations or research.
2. Donations and grants: DGFG is dependent on support in the form of donations, sponsoring, and subsidies for educational work and projects. The organization receives funding from partners like the VHV Foundation, Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA), and other supporters for public awareness campaigns.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The German Society for Tissue Transplantation (DGFG) is a non-profit limited liability company that coordinates tissue donation throughout Germany, processes donated human tissues in 14 dedicated tissue banks, and allocates finished tissue transplants to hospitals and clinics via a central allocation office. It produces and supplies corneal transplants, lamellar endothelial grafts (LaMEK and LaMEK preloaded), cardiovascular tissues (heart valves, blood vessels), amniotic membrane and musculoskeletal grafts.

Product overview

The DGFG operates as a national network organization offering tissue donation coordination, processing, and allocation services. Its product portfolio centers on human tissue transplants including corneal transplants (standard corneas, LaMEK pre-cut lamellae for DMEK, and LaMEK preloaded ready-to-use grafts), cardiovascular tissues (heart valves and blood vessels), amniotic membranes (including the AmnioClip-plus), and musculoskeletal tissue (bone, tendon, ligament). Supporting services include nationwide coordination across 32 locations, processing through 14 certified tissue banks, central allocation via waiting list database, and quality management. DGFG processes approximately 85,394 corneas, 4,934 heart valves, and 3,597 blood vessels since 2007.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corneal Transplants

Quantifiable outcome

• 95%+ surgical success rate with LaMEK preloaded
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SATiBA (South African Tissue Bank Association)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2022DGFG organized international exchange meeting at SATiBA Annual Conference in Stellenbosch, South Africa, to promote tissue donation in sub-Saharan Africa. Supported by WUTBA and GAEBA. Goal to establish platform for knowledge transfer and networking on tissue donation programs.
• Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital (SCEH), Delhi, IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021GIZ-funded project (Clinic Partnerships program) to expand cornea donation in North India. Goal to establish two new collection centers under central management in Delhi, develop electronic data management system, and reach 200 donations by project end. DGFG provides training and expertise in tissue donation coordination.
• WUTBA (World Union of Tissue Banking Associations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization for tissue banking. DGFG participates as member and supports international initiatives for establishing tissue donation programs globally.
• GAEBA (Global Alliance of Eye Bank Associations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational alliance for eye banking. DGFG participates in initiatives to promote eye banking and cornea donation worldwide, including African cooperation.
• EATCB (European Association of Tissue and Cell Banks)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean association for tissue and cell banking. DGFG participates as member for knowledge sharing and best practices in tissue banking.
• EDQM (European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Healthcare)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean directorate setting quality standards for medicines and healthcare. DGFG operates under regulatory oversight aligned with EDQM standards.
• EEBA (European Eye Bank Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean association for eye banks. DGFG participates as member for cornea donation and eye banking best practices.
• VHV FoundationminorOthersSupported the 'Experience Tissue Donation' outdoor exhibition, financing production and installation of exhibition spaces.
• BZgA (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung)minorOthersFederal Center for Health Education supports DGFG's public education work on tissue donation. Funded redesign of DGFG website and provides informational materials.
• University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus DresdencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDGFG shareholder. Provides tissue banking facilities and supports tissue donation programs through the Cornea and Tissue Bank Dresden.
• University Hospital LeipzigcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDGFG shareholder. Provides tissue banking facilities and supports tissue donation programs through university hospital tissue bank.
• Hannover Medical SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDGFG shareholder. Houses Tissue Bank Hannover and serves as headquarters for DGFG operations.
• University Medical Center RostockcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDGFG shareholder. Provides tissue banking facilities and supports tissue donation programs through university medical center.
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer Clinic NeubrandenburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDGFG shareholder (Diakonie-Klinikum). Supports tissue donation programs as a church-affiliated medical institution.
• GIZ (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)minorOthersGerman development agency funding international cooperation projects. Provides funding for DGFG's India cornea bank project through Clinic Partnerships program.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SightLife: US-based nonprofit eye bank with global cornea donation programs. Functional peer to DGFG's corneal transplant network and a fellow member of the Global Alliance of Eye Bank Associations (GAEBA).
• MTF Biologics: US-based non-profit tissue bank specializing in musculoskeletal, skin, cardiovascular, and other allografts. Direct functional peer to DGFG's tissue banking operations, with similar nonprofit economics and PEI-equivalent regulatory oversight.
• Lions Eye Institute for Transplant and Research: US non-profit eye bank providing human corneal tissue for transplantation and research. Functional peer operating a comparable non-profit donation-coordination model with similar graft categories.
• CorneaGen: US eye bank providing corneal tissue for transplantation, including DMEK and DSAEK pre-cut grafts comparable to DGFG's LaMEK product family. Direct peer in the corneal DMEK preparation market segment.

Others

• European Eye Bank Association (EEBA): European professional association for eye banks of which DGFG is a member. Sets quality standards and coordinates knowledge sharing across comparable European corneal tissue banks.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation (DSO): Germany's national organ procurement organization and DGFG's former parent (originally established DGFG as DSO-G in 1997). Both operate donation coordination infrastructure under the German Tissue Act and partner on combined organ/tissue donation in hospitals.
• NHS Blood and Transplant Tissue Services: UK's national tissue donation and transplantation service covering corneas, heart valves, skin, bone, and other tissues. Comparable as a public-sector, national-scale tissue bank network coordinating donation-to-allocation for similar graft types.

Regional players

• Banc de Sang i Teixits (BST): Catalonia's blood and tissue bank providing tissue donation coordination, processing, and allocation services similar to DGFG's national network role, but operating as a regional Spanish equivalent under public-sector governance.
• Fondazione Banca dei Tessuti di Treviso (FBTV): Italy's Veneto region tissue bank foundation, where DGFG's Managing Director Martin Börgel joined the board. Comparable tissue banking operations focused on cardiovascular, corneal, and musculoskeletal grafts in Italy.
• Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin - Gewebebank: University hospital-based tissue bank providing cornea and other tissue products in Germany. Overlaps with DGFG's corneal transplant market and is operated by one of Germany's largest university medical centers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gewebenetzwerk
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Gewebenetzwerk
• Facebookfacebook.com/DGFG.de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dgfg
• Instagraminstagram.com/gewebespende

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about German Society for Tissue Transplantation