Politics and Organ Donation: a survey of the political implementation of the first German Transplantation Act

In Germany the procurement, distribution und transplantation of cadaveric human organs is understood as a public task. The institutionalization of a specific law on transplantation fall in with a picture of a growing government intervention in all parts of human life, which original had been organized individually by the members of society itselves. From a classical liberal point of view and in consideration of the principle of subsidiarity the institutionalization of a specific law on transplantation is wether a deserving process nor it had been necessarily implemented. The statistic data of organ donation in germany show that the expected increase of the number of available cadeveric organs as an assumed positive result of the new transplantation act - failed to appear so far. Moreover we have to notice that the politicians who are responsible for an adequate implementation of the legal conditions haven`t attended to their duties. As long as the official policy only accept altruistic motivation as an incentive to donate cadaveric organs the status quo won`t change. In these circumstances a slowly reduce of government intervention maybe leeds to a better policy on organ donation. This kind of policy should give people the chance to help themselves in using other incentives than the motive of altruistic help