As of: February 28, 2024, 5:38 a.m
By: Christoph Gschoßmann
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Physical ID cards can be lost – digital ones are stored online.
A federal ministry presents the plan for a new register.
Munich – After a long delay, it is finally becoming a reality: the digital organ donor card.
Driver's license and ID card still have to wait.
The long-planned Internet register for organ donations in Germany is to go into operation gradually.
As a first step, from March 18th it will be possible to submit a declaration of your willingness to donate with an ID card with an online function (eID), as the Federal Ministry of Health announced.
The next step is planned for July 1st.
Clinics that remove organs should then be able to search for and retrieve declarations stored in the register.
In addition, it should then be possible for insured persons to submit declarations directly via health insurance apps by September 30th at the latest.
Karl Lauterbach: Organ donation register ensures clarity and security
According to Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), the new function makes it easier for doctors to “clarify a potential organ donor’s willingness to donate quickly and reliably.” The register makes it possible for the first time to document declarations online.
It also relieves relatives of having to make a difficult decision in an emergency.
“A decision documented in the organ donation register ensures clarity and security.” He called on citizens to document their decision to donate organs.
An organ donor card.
During the course of the year, an organ donation register will go online in which you can record your decision.
© Hannes P. Albert/dpa
In 2020, the Bundestag passed the organ donation reform.
The central register is a core element of this.
It was actually supposed to start on March 1, 2022, but there were delays due to, among other things, the Corona crisis.
In general, all citizens should be addressed directly about the issue at least every ten years.
Anyone aged 16 or over applying for a passport or identity card should receive information material at the office.
You should then be able to enter the register with yes or no - but also online from home.
Organ donation portal available from March
The portal www.organspende-register.de will be set up at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices.
President Karl Broich said stored declarations and personal data are protected from manipulation or unauthorized access.
The servers for this are located in Germany.
Secure authentication procedures ensured that only the person making the declaration and authorized hospital staff could access the declaration.
The institute wants to publish the number of declarations recorded in the register annually.
The ministry clarified that entry in the register is voluntary, free of charge and can be changed at any time.
While organ donor cards can get lost or not be found, the online register is also available at any time.
The technical and organizational requirements for using the register should be created in hospitals by July 1st.
Until January 2025, you should still carry your ID card with you during the transition period for security reasons, or you should enter your wish in a living will.
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Germans donate fewer organs than other European countries
The number of organ donations in Germany increased last year.
After a sharp decline in 2022, there was a slight recovery in 2023, said the German Organ Transplantation Foundation (DSO).
Last year, 965 people donated one or more organs after their death, 96 more than the year before.
This corresponds to 11.4 donors per million inhabitants; in 2022 it was 10.3 donors per million inhabitants.
There is still a significant shortage of donor organs, meaning that not all people waiting for an organ can be helped, although medical options exist.
Germany is at the bottom of the international comparison and benefits from other member states in the Eurotransplant network by receiving more organs than it gives away.
However, there are positive examples: Stefan Müller, for example, was only two years old when he received a transplant of someone else's kidney.
(cgsc with dpa and afp)