Dutch approve law to boost organ donation
Senators in the Netherlands have approved a new law that makes all Dutch adults potential organ donors unless they opt out.
The law passed in the upper house of the Dutch parliament on Tuesday. The lower house last year passed the legislation with a one-vote majority.
The law’s drafter, Pia Dijkstra, said that under the new system — similar to donation laws in Belgium and Spain — every person over 18 not yet registered as a donor will receive a letter asking if they want to donate their organs after death. “They will be able to reply: yes, no, my next of kin will decide or a specific person will decide,” Dijkstra said. Those who do not respond to the first letter, or to a second letter six weeks later, will be considered donors, although they can amend their status at any time.
The Dutch Kidney Foundation called the vote “a real breakthrough for patients on waiting lists,” saying that research in other countries with similar systems show an increase in registrations of organ donors.
The foundation’s director, Tom Oostrom, said the new law means “hundreds of patients will get back their lives and freedom.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
- RSS
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证:沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证:31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证:0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证:沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证:沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.