Federal government simplifies cross-donation of kidneys
With this, the circle of donors and recipients would significantly expand. The donation is to be organized according to the draft law by the Transplantation Centers. Additionally, a "national program for the mediation and implementation of cross-border living donor kidney transplants" is planned.
Moreover, the Coalition intends to enable so-called non-directed anonymous kidney donation. Thus, people here could donate a kidney in the future out of selfless motives without knowing to whom it goes. In countries like the USA, this possibility has existed for a long time.
The changes react to the persistent shortage of donor organs. Over 6700 people, assessed as transplantable, were waiting at the end of 2022 for a new kidney. At the same time, only slightly more than a thousand kidneys were transplanted in the same year.
"Dying on the waiting list must come to an end," explained Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), responsible for the draft law. "Short-term, we can make more organ donations possible through cross-border donation: Who donates himself, can help someone in his immediate environment more quickly." The new regulations give "hope to many kidney patients," Lauterbach continued.
Long-term, however, a consensus solution is necessary. This would provide that fundamentally every person is considered a donor unless they have expressed objections in their lifetime.
The Bundestag had already voted on a consensus solution in the year 2020, but there was no majority for it then. However, the Bundesrat and a cross-party group of Bundestag members have recently made new attempts for the consensus solution.
- In line with Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach's bill proposal, the Federal government is looking to increase blood donations by organizing donations according to the draft law by Transplantation Centers.
- The newly proposed regulations by Karl Lauterbach also include a plan for a "national program for the mediation and implementation of cross-border living donor kidney transplants," which could potentially overlap with international policies on blood donations.
- The Traffic-Coalition, led by various political parties, aims to implement a system for so-called non-directed anonymous kidney donation, inspired by existing practices in countries such as the United States of America.
- As a partner in the Federal Cabinet, Karl Lauterbach emphasized that enabling non-directed kidney donations could reduce the waiting list for transplantable organs, potentially leading to more blood donations as a result.
- The United States of America serves as an example for potential changes in blood donation policies, as their system allows for non-directed anonymous kidney donations, which could potentially be integrated into the German health care system.
