Could Changing the Way People Volunteer Increase Organ Donations?
According to a Gallup poll, 83 percent of Americans understand the benefits of organ donation and approve of the practice but only 28 percent have granted written consent to release their organs if they die. Since 1995, more than 45,000 people have died waiting for an organ donor.
Avoiding the Question
Some say the problem lies in a reluctance to make what can be a very uncomfortable decision. They say a new opt-out system, which would assume people are donors unless they specify otherwise, could dramatically increase the number of donors and save lives. A similar example lies in the do-not-call telemarketing system, where it is assumed telemarketers may call people at home unless they add their names to a do-not-call list.
But because releasing your organs to medicine after death can be such a profound decision, critics say adopting a similar opt-out system for organ donation would also introduce all kinds of ethical land mines.
Numbers from some European countries show that forcing people to confront the decision can make a big difference.
In several countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, authorities assume everyone is willing to be a donor — with the approval of family after death — unless they say otherwise in written form. In those countries, 85 percent to 99 percent of people are on paper as willing donors and actual donations are higher by about 56 percent.
