Between commodification and altruism: gender imbalance and attitudes towards organ donation. A representative survey of the German community

The German transplant law (TGP) of 1997 only recognises organ donation if the donor agrees (‘extended consent’) and if done for altruistic reasons. Several alternatives will be discussed here, including incentives and passive agreement. Based upon a representative survey, the authors examined the attitudes of Germans towards several European models of organ donation and their attitude towards organ donation in general whilst living and after death. The acceptance of possible compensation systems was also explored. In Germany the majority do not favour compensation systems, but rather passive agreement. There is evidence of gender difference with respect to this attitude. Men tend to favour …