Kommission legt Pläne zur Verbesserung von Organspenden vor[en] 

The Commission's plan seeks to address Europe's chronic shortage of transplant donors. There are currently 56,000 patients waiting for a suitable organ donor in the EU, while it is estimated that 12 people die every day while waiting for transplants. 

"If more organs were donated, many patients would be saved or have their quality of life improved," said Commissioner Vassiliou. The EU's action plan seeks to improve the quality and safety of organs, increase organ availability and make transplantation systems safer and more accessible. 

Massive differences exist between EU member states in organ donation: in Spain - a country often cited as Europe's leading light for progressive organ donor legislation - there are 34.6 organ donations per million people, while in Romania the figure is 0.5 per million. 

The action plan provides for strengthened coordination between member states in three key areas: improving the quality and safety of organs, increasing their availability and making transplantation systems more efficient and accessible. Commissioner Vassiliou stressed that there were no plans for European harmonisation in this area, adding that it was up to individual EU countries to adopt the plan's recommendations. 

However, MEPs on the European Parliament's public health committee said the action plan did not go far enough and failed to propose tangible measures to combat illegal organ trading (see EurActiv 24/04/08). 

German Green MEP Hiltrud Breyer expressed her disappointment with some aspects of the action plan. "I wish the Commission had gone further in combating organ trafficking," she told EurActiv. 

Breyer said that while the action plan may help the ongoing fight to reduce trafficking of illegal organs within the EU, it applied no "obligation of traceability" for organs illegally purchased outside the Union. 

These sentiments were echoed by another German MEP, EPP deputy and medical doctor Peter Liese, who likewise bemoaned the lack of "tangible" measures in the battle against illegal organ trafficking. 

He notably claimed the Commission's plan "unfortunately does not say how the EU can work together with third countries" and bemoaned the lack of clear guidelines to push member states towards stricter law enforcement in this area. 

"Organ trade is the domain of international organised crime and only a coordinated effort will tackle these mafia structures," he said. 

Both MEPs Breyer and Liese felt that Europol should have been given a stronger role in the action plan.