Hospital.Help

Düsseldorf – North Rhine-Westphalia and other federal states want to increase the population’s willingness to donate organs with a legislative initiative in the Bundesrat. The draft law, which the states want to introduce to the Bundesrat on June 14, provides for the introduction of the so-called opt-out solution for organ donation, said NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) today. In principle, everyone is considered an organ donor after death, unless they have objected to this during their lifetime. Currently, only those who actively consent to a donation are eligible to be organ donors.

“One thing is clear: no one should be forced to donate organs. But I do believe that we can force people to make a decision for or against it,” said Laumann. Although the majority of the population is positive about organ donation, there is a massive gap in donated organs, which could ultimately mean death for many people.

Around 1,800 people are waiting for a donor organ in NRW alone, the minister explained. But only 166 people donated one or more organs in NRW in 2023. Nationwide, around 8,400 people are on the waiting list for a transplant. Last year, however, only 965 people donated almost 2,900 organs after their death.

“I am convinced that we have no shortage of people in Germany who want to donate organs after their death out of solidarity or charity. But we have a documentation problem,” said the minister. Therefore, a “system change” is needed. The opt-out solution would relieve those who want to donate organs of the documentation. An objection to organ donation does not have to be justified.

The Bundestag last voted on the procedure for organ donation in 2020 – with a majority in favor of the decision-making solution and against the opt-out solution. “With the different composition of the Bundestag as a result of the 2021 election, a new vote offers the chance to finally introduce the opt-out solution – and save more lives,” said Laumann.

According to the current status, NRW will submit the draft law to the Bundesrat together with Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate and Schleswig-Holstein, said the CDU politician. He expects the support of other states after the cabinet and senate votes are still pending. If the legislative initiative finds a majority in the Bundesrat, the Bundestag will have to deal with it.

Today, the black-red Senate in Berlin also decided to submit the bill to the Bundesrat together with the other states. “With the introduction of the opt-out solution, we can usher in a real change in organ donation,” explained Health Senator Ina Czyborra (SPD). © dpa/aerzteblatt.de