Welcome to OrphanAnesthesia!

OrphanAnesthesia is a joint initiative of the Scientific Working Group of Pediatric Anesthesia of the German Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI e.V.), Orphanet, and the European Society of Pediatric Anesthesia (ESPA). 
Its mission is to improve the safety of patients with rare diseases by providing peer-reviewed recommendations for anesthesia.

The project was launched in 2005 by the Scientific Working Group of Pediatric Anesthesia of the DGAI with the vision of creating an open-access database offering reliable and practical information on anesthesia management for patients with rare diseases.

Recognizing the relevance and scope of this idea, OrphanAnesthesia established strong collaborations with European organizations, including support from Orphanet – the rare disease and orphan drugs knowledge base. OrphanAnesthesia continues to maintain partnerships with international societies. Visitor numbers to the website have been steadily increasing, and in 2025 the OrphanAnesthesia website recorded more than 100,000 visits – a development we are genuinely pleased about, as it reflects the growing international interest in our recommendations.
 
Today, OrphanAnesthesia is supported by an extensive global network of physicians and scientists – experts in anesthesiology as well as specialists in rare diseases from many different disciplines – who contribute their expertise to the development and peer review of the recommendations. Their voluntary engagement is essential to the success of the project and to advancing patient safety in the anesthetic care of individuals with rare diseases.

OrphanAnesthesia develops and publishes peer-reviewed, freely accessible, and concise recommendations for anesthesiologists worldwide. Each recommendation reflects the best available evidence at that time of publication and is designed to support clinicians in planning and delivering safe anesthetic care for patients with rare diseases.