EESC opinion: Quality and safety standards for human organs intended for transplantation

EESC opinion: Quality and safety standards for human organs intended for transplantation

Key points

  • The European Economic and Social Committee welcomes the proposal for a directive which is an instrument aimed at extending the protection of EU citizens' health.
  • The Committee firmly believes that an adequate donor recruitment policy entails the following elements: raising public awareness, creating a collective conscience, ensuring the active and disinterested involvement of the media and motivating and involving health professionals.
  • Organ donation in the European Union should be based on the principles of voluntary and altruistic donation, solidarity and being unpaid.
  • The potential shortage of organs for reasons that are not strictly scientific or related to demographics should not be counterbalanced by importing organs from other parts of the world where people are more aware of organ transplantation and demonstrate greater solidarity towards this process.

  • Member States should lay down periodic inspection and monitoring measures to ensure that organ procurement and transplant centres comply with these standards.
  • The Committee supports also the Action plan on Organ Donation and Transplantation (2009‑2015): Strengthened Cooperation between Member States"[1].


[1]              COM(2008) 819 final.