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Berlin – The Bundestag today passed a legislative initiative for more organ transplants. The state chamber voted in favor of a draft law to amend the Transplantation Act and introduce the opt-out solution.

The draft law is the result of a joint initiative by eight states – North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein. The aim is to ensure that more people who depend on organ donation receive a life-saving organ.

Under the new regulation, anyone who has not objected to being an organ donor during their lifetime would be considered an organ donor. This objection could be recorded in the organ donation register launched this year, in an organ donation card, in a living will or in another way. No justification would be required.

The Bundesrat wants to introduce the draft law to the Bundestag. At the end of June, members of various parliamentary groups also presented a joint initiative for a change in the law that also aims to provide an opt-out solution. At present, in Germany, explicit consent is required during one’s lifetime in order to become an organ donor after death.

Baden-Württemberg’s Health Minister Manne Lucha (Greens) described the opt-out solution today in the state chamber as “absolutely necessary”. The transplant numbers do not “meet the requirements” that are necessary. It is also not compulsory, everyone can continue to decide freely.

Critics of a new regulation point out that silence should not be interpreted as consent to organ donation. Organ donation must remain voluntary. Supporters, however, argue that it is still possible to decide against organ donation. Most recently, a push for an opt-out regulation failed in the Bundestag in 2020.

Germany ranks at the bottom of the international rankings when it comes to the number of organ donations. The number of donors has been stagnating for years. In 2023, 8,385 patients were on the waiting list for an organ. 2,877 organs were donated by 965 people. © may/kna/dpa/aerzteblatt.de