Commission acts to improve organ donation across Europe

The European Commission has adopted safety and quality measures for organ donation and a 10-point action plan to work with member states on strengthening organ donation and transplantation systems in Europe.
There are currently 56,000 patients waiting for a suitable organ donor in the EU. It is estimated that every day 12 people die while waiting for transplantation.
The EU’s Directive and Action Plan address three key challenges: improving the quality and safety of organs across Europe, increasing organ availability and making transplant systems more efficient and accessible.
"These measures are all about saving lives,” said Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, adding that “we want to reassure citizens and patients across Europe that the EU and member states are working together to maximise efforts to provide high quality and safe transplantation systems."
The Directive provides a clear legal framework for organ donation and transplantation in the EU. In every member state a national competent authority will be created or designated to ensure compliance with EU quality and safety standards that include establishing a traceability system of human organs and a reporting system of serious adverse events and reactions.
To facilitate exchange of human organs, data collection on specific organ characteristics will be standardised.
Finally, national quality programmes will ensure continuous monitoring of performance and result in improved processes and learning. The EU’s goal is to minimise the risk for the organ transplant recipient, to improve and optimise the allocation of organs across the Union and to provide the transplant surgeon with the necessary information to make the best choice.
The Action Plan (2009-2015) is a 6-year plan with 10 priority actions addressing the key challenges in organ donation and transplantation in Europe: improving the quality and safety of organs across Europe, increasing organ availability, and making transplant systems more efficient and accessible.
The Action Plan aims to stimulate joint actions and facilitate coordination with member states that can be achieved through different mechanisms such as exchanging good practice or creating EU-wide agreements on specific topics.