Germany changes law on organ donations

EuroNews

Germany has changed the law on organ donations in a bid to get more people to come forward.

Germans over the age of 16 will be regularly asked if they want to offer their organs to after their death.

Only 20 percent of the population is currently on the list.

The subject is close to the heart of opposition leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The Social Democrat chief donated a kidney to his wife two years ago.

“It is helpful not only for all of us but in case of an unexpected death we don’t want to leave the question of organ donation to the relatives of the deceased,” Steinmeier told lawmakers.

The first questionaires will be sent out by the end of this year.

From 2017, every German with health insurance will be asked every five years if they want to become a donor.
 
More than 12,000 people in Germany are waiting for organ transplants. Three of them die every day.
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