A recent study by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, in collaboration with the MSB Medical School Berlin and the Max Planck UCL Center for Computational Psychiatry and Aging Research, shows that switching to an opt-out organ donation policy, where all adults are presumed organ donors unless they explicitly opt out, does not increase donations from deceased donors. The results of the study have been published in the journal Public Health . With the demand for donor organs far outstripping the supply, calls for changes in public policy are growing.
An opt-out ("presumed consent ") default policy is often seen as a promising approach. This policy stipulates that all adults are automatically considered potential organ donors after their death, unless they explicitly withdraw their consent during their lifetime. In contrast, the opt-in ("explicit consent") system requires potential donors to actively consent to donate their organs after they die.
The discussion around implementing an opt-out policy has recently gained traction again in Germany, raising the question of whether such a change in policy would actually lead to an increase in the number of deceased organ donors . A recent analysis of all member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found no significant difference in deceased donor rates between opt-in and opt-out countries, but significantly fewer living donors—individuals who voluntarily donate organs, like a kidn.