The Steering Committee of the Istanbul Summit prepared for the DICG’s creation at a series of meetings that followed the 2008 Istanbul Summit. On September 30, 2009, Declaration of Istanbul’s Steering Committee met in Beirut, Lebanon, along with the Congress of the Asian Society of Transplantation. Together, they formulated a strategy and plans for the Declaration’s continued implementation.
A series of goals were developed to achieve the DICG’s mission and coordinate activities related to the Declaration of Istanbul. These goals included measures to enhance compliance with the Declaration’s Principles by professional societies, pharmaceutical companies and other organizations that fund transplantation research, and by journals that publish reports of clinical and research activities in transplantation. These goals also emphasized the need for national governments, regulatory authorities, and healthcare institutions to develop policies that put an end to commerce in human organs.
The DICG was formally established in 2010.