Shortly before the Bundestag’s renewed debate on the opt-out system for organ donation this Thursday, Peter Bobbert, president of the Berlin Medical Association, sharply criticized Germany’s current approach. Calling Germany an “organ import country”-a “disgrace” for Europe’s most populous nation, the head physician told the “Bild”. He emphasized that organ donation can only function as a collective act of solidarity if every individual makes a choice regarding donation for themselves.
Bobbert urged that every citizen in Germany engages with the topic of organ donation at least once in their lifetime, stating that anything less is unacceptable. His appeal was stark: it is more likely that someone will need an organ donation than they will choose to become a donor.
Currently, Germany operates under the “opt-in” system, meaning an organ can only be taken if the deceased had provided consent or if relatives decide based on their presumed will. The proposed “opt-out” system would reverse this entirely: adult citizens would be generally considered potential donors unless they had explicitly objected during their lifetime. This fundamental shift in policy is set to be discussed in the Bundestag during its first reading on Thursday.
