Organ donations Swiss switch to ‘presumed consent’

Geneva: Switzerland voted on Sunday to boost the availability of transplant organs by making everyone a potential donor after death unless they have expressly objected.

The legal change, approved by 60 percent of voters in a referendum, marks a dramatic shift from the current system. Under the existing laws, transplants are only possible if the deceased person consented while alive -- and their wishes are often unknown.

In such cases, the decision is left up to relatives -- who in most cases opt against organ donation. This has left many of those in need of a transplant waiting in vain for an organ.

At the end of 2021, more than 1,400 patients were awaiting transplant organs in Switzerland, a country of around 8.6 million people. Last year, 166 deceased persons donated their organs in Switzerland, and a total of 484 organs from deceased donors were transplanted. But 72 people died in 2021 while waiting on an organ transplant waiting list, according to the organisation Swisstransplant.