INTERNATIONAL ORGAN DONATION AWARENESS-GERMANY-GERMAN PARLIAMENT NEW PETITION ON CHANGING LAWS GOVERNING ORGAN DONATION

From our colleague Sabine Atkins

The German parliament has put a new petition up on its website regarding changing the laws that govern organ donation in Germany. It has become apparent that the infrastructure concerning organ transplantation needs to be improved.

Here's the link, but since it's in German, I translated the main text for you.

https://epetitionen.bundestag.de/index.php?action=petition;sa=details;petition=8953

The proposed changes are:

1. Every citizen has to make a decision whether he or she wants to be an organ donor or not. If someone decides to be an organ donor, his or her health insurance card must have this information written on it.

2. Coordination centers with organ transplantation administrators have to be placed throughout the nation.

3. Hospital staff has to be educated about the importance of organ transplantation as the only life saving procedure.

Reasons for the changes are:

In Germany 12000 people are waiting for donor organs, the majority of them will die, often in great pain. It doesn't have to be like that:

• 80% of all Germans are for organ donation, but only 17% carry an organ donor card with them.
• With answering just a simple question, so many lives could be saved.
• With a well maintained network of transplant coordinators, recipients can receive matching donor organs more effectively.
• The government will save a lot of money; dialysis is extremely expensive and debilitating, while people with new donor organs are able to go to work again.

Best,
Sabine