Ahead of a Bundestag debate on organ donation, Federal Government's Commissioner for Patients' Affairs Stefan Schwartze (SPD) has come out in favour of switching to an opt-out system. "I am very pleased that the Bundestag is finally debating a new regulation on organ donation again," Schwartze told newspapers of the Funke Media Group (Tuesday editions).
He said he was "personally convinced that we urgently need a change of system and that the opt-out rule is the most obvious solution for achieving it."
Schwartze pushed back against criticism that an opt-out model would infringe on individual self-determination. "What matters most to me is that every person should make an informed decision for themselves," he said. "Under the opt-out rule, no one is obligated or even forced to donate organs. A refusal will be respected at any time and without the need for any explanation."
The German Medical Association also voiced its backing for the proposal. Its President, Klaus Reinhardt, told the Funke newspapers that the opt-out rule offered "the opportunity to narrow the gap between the high general willingness to donate among the population and the persistently low donor numbers." He said the model would preserve citizens' freedom of choice while at the same time sending "an important signal of solidarity." For doctors, Reinhardt added, the rule would also create a more reliable legal basis for their work.
The Bundestag is set to debate organ donation on Thursday. A cross-party group of MPs from the CDU/CSU, SPD, the Greens, and the Left Party launched a new initiative in early May to enshrine the opt-out model in law. Under such a system, all adults with legal capacity would be treated as potential donors, unless they have registered an objection during their lifetime. A number of other European countries already operate under opt-out rules, including Austria, Spain, and Norway.
The opt-out approach has not gone without criticism. Both the Protestant and the Catholic Church in Germany have explicitly rejected it. Under Germany's current legislation, the opt-in system, only those who have explicitly stated and documented their willingness to donate organs during their lifetime are eligible to do so.
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