Organmangel. Überlegungen zu Möglichkeiten und Grenzen rechtlicher Steuerung

Subtitle: German law and the shortage of organs in transplant medicine. Proving opportunities of legal intervention

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Schmidt-Recla, Adrian

Affiliations: Universität Leipzig, Juristenfakultät, Lehrstuhl für Bürgerliches Recht, Rechtsgeschichte und Arztrecht, Prof. Dr. Bernd-Rüdiger Kern, Burgstr. 27, 04109 Leipzig. E-mail: aschmidt@uni-leipzig.de

Abstract: Germany is reported to suffer from a significant shortage of organs ready to be transplanted. Law or legal intervention is often considered to be a proper method to diminish shortage. But discussing several instruments of legal intervention presumes that first the real situation and second the general structure of legal intervention is described juridically. Then focus has to be turned on the existing rules concerning death and live donation and the problems connected to them. At last decisions can be taken whether a special problem needs new legal intervention. Here this is to be approved for the duty of notification of brain-dead donors only.

Keywords: Shortage of organs, legal intervention, brain death, contradiction versus consent, duty of notification, live donation, trading organs, anonymous donation, cross-over situations

Journal: Zeitschrift für Medizinische Psychologie, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 31-37, 2008