Opt-out Consent in Organ Transplantation: Why an Old Issue Keeps Its Relevance

There is significant evidence that the introduction of an opt-out consent system would go some way towards increasing the historically very low donation rates in Germany. It is occasionally postulated that there is a lack of political will for this change and that this is the cause for lethargy of reform in this area. This article outlines the relevant legal conditions and shows that the complexity of the German constitutional framework renders it currently incapable of adequately underpinning an opt-out consent system. A more thorough debate and a significant societal consensus would first have to be established before a path towards a constitutionally legitimated opt-out system can be identified.