Organ donation | Disagreement resolution is not a silver bullet

During a kidney transplant in a German hospital Photo: DPA/Waltraud Grubitzsch Things haven't turned around yet when it comes to rules on objections to organ donation. But the bill, which is already supported by 254 members of the Bundestag, is receiving more support than previous initiatives in parliament. However, there is a risk that the very emotional debate will ignore what guidelines are needed to do justice to both donors and recipients - and also to those who have problems with the "socialization" of their bodies, or bodies in general.

Proponents of the contradiction solution see the chronic shortage of donor organs as the biggest problem. So it would be easy to regulate that every adult is automatically considered a donor if they have not objected. This would certainly allow more material to be supplied to transplantation medicine. But that alone won't be enough. What is needed are accompanying rules and the strengthening of the relatively expensive structures at all hospitals that come into question. A lot more information is also needed on the topic. Suitable query situations in which as many people as possible can be reached must be determined. All of this also costs money.

Don't tell anyone that the latter in particular would be cheap. The GKV Savings Act has just deprived general practitioners of the opportunity to bill for advice on organ donor cards from 2027. This is the interest of the current government coalition in strengthening the issue step by step.

On the other hand, information about this also means that a donor organ rarely means a carefree extension of life (even if only for a few years). The immune system must be reduced with medication throughout life so that the foreign organ is not rejected. Strict everyday hygiene and still dangers from actually harmless pathogens, avoiding a number of foods and ultimately an increased risk of cancer - all of this is also part of it, to name just a few points.

You could get more information here instead of just debating. And the latter not only in the Bundestag.

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