The University Hospital of Essen is one of the greatest medical institutions of West Germany and is composed of 50 hospitals and research institutes. The hospital has 1,322 inpatient beds. 5,500 specialists work at the University Hospital of Essen. The annual budget of the hospital is more than 500 million euros.

The University Hospital of Essen is known for successful development and application of new treatment methods in the field of oncology, transplantation, cardiovascular diseases, perinatal medicine, stroke treatment, AIDS treatment, treatment of post-traumatic disorders. At the University Hospital of Essen the positron emission tomography center, the most accurate tumor diagnosis, was established for the first time in Germany.

West German Cancer Center, which works on the basis of the University Hospital of Essen, is the most authoritative medical institution of Germany and Europe for the treatment of complicated forms of malignant tumors.

The clinic of general and transplant surgery has acquired the European and worldwide fame in the early 70's when the first kidney transplant was carried out there. Since the late 80's liver transplant, heart transplant, lung transplant as well as combined transplantation of the pancreas/kidneys and heart/kidney are constant carried on at the clinic. Since the late 90's split-liver transplantation (transplantation of one organ to the two patients) are carried out.

The Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic is leading in Europe and second largest in the world after the clinic in Seattle (USA). The first bone marrow transplantation was carried out in 1975. Transplantologists cooperate closely with the hospitals of pediatric hematology, oncology and endocrinology.
The cardiologic center has the latest equipment for research of blood circulation disorders, ultrasound and cardiac catheterization. All modern techniques, from simple dilation of vessels to the heart transplants, are used in the treatment.