On Tuesday morning, the secretary general of the Protransplant organisation, Christiane Bourg, was RTL Radio's editoral guest. During the interview, Bourg highlighted the issues contributing to the lack of organ transplants in Luxembourg.
Bourg stressed that there are not enough organ donors in Luxembourg, despite the fact that every resident is automatically opted into becoming an organ donor. In theory, only those who explicitly write that they do not consent to having their organs donated are opted out, but the law is not applied in practice.
Often, doctors ask the deceased's family members about their wishes for their loved one's organs. More often than not, family members reject the option of organ donation.
As a result, Protransplant's secretary general expressed a desire for a change in how electronic patient files are managed. She proposed that, instead of having the question concerning organ donations be an optional one, this question should be mandatory. Bourg also proposed having points of contact in major hospitals who would signal potential organ donors.
Recently, the members of the government all supported the notion of organ donations in brandishing their "passeport de vie" cards, organ donor cards. More generally, Bourg explained that the organ donor cards appear to have a symbolic character. Instead, she recommended that organ donors inform their family members that, in the event of their death, they want their organs to be donated to those in need.
