Switzerland follows the French model and changes its rules on organ donation.
- Explicit consent is still in force in Germany, Denmark, Lithuania and Romania.
- In France, there were 1392 deceased donors and 521 living donors in 2021.
- Kidney transplants are the most common.
Presumed consent is now applied for organ donation in Switzerland. This means that you will have to explicitly express your refusal to donate an organ, before death. Sunday, May 15, the population was called upon to express itself during a referendum. The decision was approved by 60.2% of the vote, with a turnout of 39.7%.
An increasingly rare system in Europe
The country was among the last in Europe to operate on the principle of explicit consent: “it implies that the individual has clearly expressed his consent for the removal of organs to be carried out”explains theEuropean Institute of Bioethics. From now on, the Swiss will have to clearly express their refusal. All deceased persons who meet the criteria will be considered as donors. For this, the death must take place in an intensive care unit of a hospital and it must have been confirmed “unequivocally by two doctors”.
Increase organ donations
The objective of this system change in Switzerland is to have more donors. According to RTS, more than 1400 people are waiting for an organ in the country and every week, one to two people die because they did not receive the transplant in time. According to the European Institute of Bioethics, the transition from explicit consent to presumed consent allows “considerably increase the number of potential donors, and thus save more lives“.
What about in France?
Since 1976, the principle of explicit consent has been applied in France. In case of opposition, it is necessary to register in the national register of refusals of organ donations. “The refusal to remove organs is reviewable and revocable at any time.according to French administration website, Public service. A person can also indicate their choice in writing and entrust the document to a relative. “This document is dated and signed by its author identified by the indication of his surname, first name, date and place of birth.“But it is also possible to specify it orally to a relative, who will have to inform the medical teams. Since 2017, the refusal can be partial, and only concern certain organs or tissues.
