Thousands of people are waiting for a new organ. But the number of donations is low. That is why several countries now want to change the transplantation law.
NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) considers the willingness to donate organs to be a “proof of love for humanity”. “I have met many, many people in my life who have really had a good life again thanks to an organ transplant and they all say to me: ‘Well, if that hadn’t worked out, I wouldn’t be here today,'” Laumann said on Deutschlandfunk. “I know it’s a question of boundaries. It’s not easy for us humans to come to terms with the finiteness of life. But somehow that’s part of it.”
North Rhine-Westphalia and other federal states want to use a legislative initiative to increase the population’s willingness to donate organs. The draft law that the states are submitting to the Bundesrat today provides for the introduction of the so-called opt-out solution. In principle, every person 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.
“I have also been in favor of the consent solution for a long time,” admitted Laumann. However, all initiatives to encourage more people to get an organ donor card have had little effect, said Laumann. The result is that Germany is a recipient country internationally in transplant medicine. “We have been stuck with fewer than 1,000 organ donations for years, and we know from surveys that 80 percent of Germans are positive about organ donation,” said Laumann.
Duty to decide, not to donate
It is morally perfectly acceptable to decide against organ donation, said Laumann. No one has to justify it. However, he believes that people should be obliged to make a decision for or against it, instead of repressing the issue.
The Bundestag last voted on the procedure for organ donations in 2020 – with a majority in favor of the decision-making solution and against the opt-out solution. But now the Bundestag is composed differently again, said Laumann. This offers a new opportunity to introduce the opt-out solution after all.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
