Widerspruchslösung – ein Weg zu höheren Organspenderaten?

According to the German Foundation for Organ Transplantation, on average, three people die each day in Germany while waiting for an organ donation. This article discusses the effectiveness of a nudge to the default setting “organs are donated” (presumed consent). It is explored whether this nudge leads to significantly higher organ donation rates than the default setting “organs are not donated“ based on data from the eight member countries of the Eurotransplant organization. The analysis shows that higher organ donation rates are not driven by higher mortality rates alone. The results for Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria are presented separately. These countries share similar socio-economic characteristics. Factors influencing organ donor rates are discussed as are possible problems and distortions of the donation rates. In addition, it is discussed to what extent a nudge in the field of organ donation can be ethically legitimized. The analyses show that, in countries with presumed consent, organ donation rates are significantly higher than in countries without this rule. However, it was not possible to identify the legal regulation as the sole cause of this difference