Improving organ donation and transplantation in Europe

The European Commission is about to launch a wide consultation on organ transplantation in June 2006 (envisaged date for the launch: 19 June). An organ transplantation is the only treatment possible in the case of some serious pathologies. Nonetheless, according to a survey commissioned by the European Commission, the number of organ donors from one country to another varies between 2 to 35 donors per million inhabitants. In the attempt to improve the situation, the European Commission will now launch a wide consultation on organ transplants. The objective is twofold: 1.to enable the EU countries to share their experiences in promoting and organising organ donations, 2.to analyse possible scenarios for cross-border organ exchange, presented as a means to address the growing shortage of available organs.