Germany debates opt-out system for organ donations

Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn is pushing for the country to adopt an opt-out policy for organ donations as the number of donors sink to its lowel-ever level. In an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper on Sunday, Spahn declared himself in favour...

Organ donation and transplant in the EU

Across Europe, 16 patients die every day waiting for the organs they need. However, there were over 800 more organ transplants in the EU in 2015, compared to 2014. This confirms an encouraging trend, with over 4000 additional transplants over 5 years, a...

Improving organ donation across Europe

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Council of Europe, along with 8 other partners are supporting the ‘ACCORD’ project which has involved 23 European countries. “Achieving Comprehensive Coordination in Organ Donation throughout the European Union” is a Joint...

New EU rules on human tissues and cells increase patient safety

The Commission has adopted two sets of rules for human tissues and cells to protect patients in the EU by ensuring high quality and safety standards. The first set of rules set out the technical requirements that will facilitate tracing of all tissues and cells...