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23 Apr 2008
Patients in Europe could benefit from calls to introduce an EU-wide organ donor card.
Euro MPs are to vote on a report calling for the implementation of a European organ donor card as well as a telephone helpline in parliament today, the BBC reports.
Ministers believe that the measures could allow donor organs to be matched more quickly across Europe and will encourage countries that do not have a donor system in place at the moment to accept the scheme.
Currently some countries including the UK require people to "opt in" to the scheme, whereas countries including Belgium and Denmark "presume consent" of the donor unless otherwise stated.
British Liberal Democrat MEP Liz Lynne told the BBC that a European donor card could "significantly" speed up organ transplants as well as encourage greater co-operation.
"If we rolled it out across the EU, you would get more donors," she added.
It is also hoped that the donor card system could curb the trade in illegally trafficked organs as it will ensure that all donations are voluntary and unpaid.
According to the European Commission an estimated 40,000 people across Europe are on waiting lists for an organ transplant, with ten people dying every day when organs fail to be found in time.
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