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In France, everyone is an Organ Donor


One of the main reasons that fewer transplants actually take place than the people who need them is because the number of Organs available are less than the number of patients.

Another issue faced by health workers and transplant teams is that whenever a patient is brain dead, if clearly not specified that they wish to donate their organs (Either through an organ donation card or even facebook status) it becomes the purview of the family to decide whether to donate patients organs. A number of times the families are not aware of the patients wish or they dilly dally the decision wasting precious time and organs.

Inorder to over come these issues, France has taken a great decision to have an opt-out policy where organ donation is concerned. What is basically means is that everyone in France is an Organ donor, unless they specifically opt-out of the default status sue to any reason.

This simplifies the work of transplant team who only has to look for whether the person has opted out of being an organ donor or not. It means under normal circumstances, the organs of all citizens of France can be harvested without the need to seek out permission from any authority whatsoever.

Another incredible added advantage is that, because of this move, the number of organs harvested will finally match up to the number of organs needed for patients. This will reduce the time between a person being diagnosed with organ failure and the transplant, ensuring faster recovery of the patient.

At present Spain is the country that has the best organ donation system in place, where the wait for organs is merely in weeks instead of months or years.

This system implemented by France is simple and wonderful at the same time. My fondest hope is that India would implement such a system in order to meet the rising need for organ harvestation in Indian healthcare.

More info here - https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/02/france-organ-donation-law
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