EU-wide organ donor card proposed by health chief

BRUSSELS, May 30 (Reuters) The European Union's health chief proposed an EU-wide organ donor card today after a survey showed most Europeans support using such cards but only 12 per cent actually carry one.

The proposed card, indicating a willingness to donate an organ after death, is part of a plan by EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou to increase donations and transplants.

According to EU figures, a lack of organs causes the deaths of 10 people across the 27-country bloc every day. Around 40,000 patients are on EU waiting lists for a transplant.

''Organ donations save lives. A European organ donor card, and common EU standards on the quality and safety of organ donations and transplants, could secure a sufficient and safe supply or organs,'' Kyprianou said.

Dutch television will air a reality show this week in which a dying woman chooses a recipient for her kidneys. The EU executive and the Dutch government said the show was unethical.

BNN argues the show highlights the shortage of organ donors and is a tribute to its founder Bart de Graaft who died of kidney failure five years ago, despite several transplants.

The Commission's strategy paper also proposes creating organ transplant coordinators in hospitals and making better use of living donors.

''Guidelines for systems offering surplus organs to the countries in need could also be evaluated, especially for the exchange of organs for urgent and difficult to treat patients,'' the paper said.

An opinion poll carried out for the European Commission in late 2006 and published today said 81 per cent of EU citizens ''support the use of organ donor cards''.

''The survey revealed 56 per cent of Europeans are willing to donate one of their organs after they die, and this rises to 77 per cent among those who have discussed the issue with their family,'' the EU executive said in a statement.

''Compared to a similar survey in 2002, the percentage of Europeans who would agree to donate an organ of a deceased loved one rose by 8 percentage points.'' Support among citizens for the idea of donating an organ was highest in Sweden (81 per cent) and lowest in Romania (27).

The survey showed a large gap between an acceptance of organ donation cards and the take-up of such cards in the EU.

The countries with the highest take-up of donor cards are the Netherlands (44 per cent) and Ireland (29), the survey said.

''Among member states which joined the EU since 2004, the use of organ donation cards is extremely limited,'' it said.

Reuters GL VV1520