A crucial law on organ donations that was first introduced to Iceland’s Parliament in 2012 has finally passed. From this point forward, all Icelanders will be organ donors by default, unless they specify otherwise.
This version of the law was introduced by Progressive Party MPs Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir and Willum Þór Þórsson, but it was actually first submitted by Siv Friðleifsdóttir, who was also an MP for the Progressives, in 2012.
The concept of the law is fairly simple. All Icelanders will be assumed to be organ donors by default, with two exceptions: if the deceased specified beforehand that they do not want their organs to be removed, or if the deceased said nothing on the matter but their closest relative objects.
As reported, the bill is far from revolutionary. Other Scandinavian countries have similar laws on the books already. Studies conducted in Iceland showed that when asked, people about to die were only willing to donate their organs 60% of the time.
With a shortage of available organs, not only in Iceland but around the world, this law hopes to shorten waiting times for potentially life-saving procedures.
The Ministry of Welfare will soon make a formal introductory announcement about the matter, to better acquaint Icelanders with the new law and its policies.
Inri137 on June 7th, 2018 at 14:06 UTC »
Thank you for taking the time to read my comment. Please consider registering as an organ donor (US, intl) and paying forward the life and health you've had the opportunity to enjoy.
So a lot of countries have tried a lot of really interesting things to make access to organ donations easier:
Israel makes it so that registered organ donors are given priority if they ever need an organ transplant. They skip ahead of all the non-donors on the transplant waiting list. Also, while it's illegal to buy and sell organs in Israel, the Israel public health plan will pay for you to travel to other countries and get transplant surgery there, even if the organs were sourced illegally in those countries. Related to the above, until 2010 Colombia was one of the world leaders in transplant tourism, with many customers from Israel. In 2010 organized crime revolving around illegal organ trafficking got so bad that the state began tightly regulating and monitoring organ donations and specifically organ donations to foreigners. The black market crumbled, but it's now much more difficult for even Colombian citizens to get organs they need. Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Slovak, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, and now Iceland all have "presumed consent" ("opt-out") systems. In many of these countries you are automatically considered an organ donor but when you die they check with your family and they can veto the donation. Spain has the highest rate of donor registry in the world. Denmark (opt-in) lags all the other Scandinavian countries in terms of organ donor rates, and has recently considered legislation to switch to an opt-out system, but it has failed. In Iran it's actually legal to buy and sell certain organs (in practice, mostly kidneys). As far as I know this is the only country where it's actually legal to sell your organ. The government even chips in if you do and provides you with additional healthcare for donating. As a result Iran is the only country in the world with no waitlists for kidney transplants, although a kidney will cost you anywhere from 150-200 million rial (USD 3000-5000). For perspective, the average annual family income in Iran is also about 200 million rial (USD 5000). Iran only allows Iranian citizens to buy and sell from other Iranian citizens. The Australian government will pay living organ donors some AUD 4500 (USD 3400) for donating organs. The price is set by the government based on the minimum wage, and it is still illegal to buy or sell organs directly between private parties. The Singaporean government does not allow people to buy and sell organs themselves but does allow patients to incentivize donations by paying for the costs associated with the transfer (the procedure itself, medical stay, loss of income from work, expected future medical expenses, etc.) China used to harvest organs from dead prisoners, with over 90% of its organ donations coming from executed criminals. This was the case until a few years ago, when they got a lot of flack for people mysteriously disappearing, dying in prisons, and their organs going to the wealthy. They allegedly stopped using dead criminals for organ donations in 2014 but China has one of the largest black markets for organs. It's worth noting that switching to a presumed consent/opt-out system doesn't automatically mean you're going to get a higher donor registry rate. Poland has an opt-out system but has a much lower donor rate than many opt-in countries, including the USA.EDIT: Thanks to /u/treigen for pointing out I got Norway wrong!
EDIT2: Added a bunch of countries according to some research papers as well as Googling. Feel free to correct any outdated or inaccurate info!
EDIT3: Updated Denmark per /u/sad_sand_sandy's comment!
At the bottom too because it's so important: thank you for taking the time to read my comment. Please consider registering as an organ donor (US, intl).MrSmook on June 7th, 2018 at 11:53 UTC »
Similar in Wales. There was time to opt. Out and I think people still can(?) But if you haven't then you're an organ donor by default if I'm not mistaken.
henkpiet on June 7th, 2018 at 10:52 UTC »
The Netherlands also narrowly passed a similar law recently, but it has a lot of resistance because people say it violates the freedom of ownership over your own body.
Edit: Jesus people, yes of course you can opt out anytime you want stop spamming the question