7 June 2007

THE HAGUE – The current organ donor registration system in which people must sign up to become a donor will remain intact for the time being.

Christian democrat CDA minister Ab Klink (Public Health) does however want to "seriously explore" whether other systems could produce more donors. One of the options he will be looking at is the Active Donor Registration (ADR) system, in which someone automatically becomes a donor if they fail to respond to a number of notifications.

Klink says he will come with a "master plan" for organ donation in the autumn.

Klink said on Wednesday during an emergency debate in Parliament that he would keep an open mind while looking into whether other registration systems could be more effective. "The individual's right to decide is extremely important, but I haven't come to a final verdict yet," the minister said.

In the short term only small steps, like advertising campaigns, will be undertaken to increase the number of donors.

Democrat D66, Socialist SP and green-left GroenLinks spoke out on Wednesday in support of the Active Donor Registration system. Coalition parties Christian democrat CDA and ChristenUnie want to first hear the minister's position.

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]

Subject: Dutch news