Organ and Tissue Transplantation in the European Union

These past years, the media have focused public attention on malpractice in the field of organ donation, with the risk of forgetting that organ donation provides an extraordinary hope of saving lives and gives a splendid example of human solidarity. Transplantation was made possible by the development of scientific and medical knowledge together with the dedication of skilled teams throughout Europe. The shortage of organs and tissue is the key factor for all the problems within the system: the size of the European Union will help to deal with this reality and requires the cooperation of medical teams, dispatching organisms and public health authorities at the European level. The transparency of a faultless organization, from the technical and ethical points of view will increase the public's support of organ donation and decrease organ shortage. The development of the European Union, resulting in free movement within the international market, makes harmonisation of the donation system unavoidable. From the Introduction by Magda de Galan, Belgian Minister of Health.