Everyone in France is presumed to be an organ donor after their death, and the country is now informing citizens of a new rule through which they can opt out from January 1 2017.
Reports state that people will now be allowed to register their refusal for organ donation after their death by using the refusal register, French news outlet The Connexion reported.
Also read: Organ Donation Day: What donors and recipients need to know
The new rule has come into light as the Agence de la Biomédecine, the federal body responsible for organ donation, started running a publicity campaign on the French rules on donation. The publicity is being done through a YouTube video targeting the young audience and through TV public service advertisements and notices in hospitals.
The video and TV campaigns have taken a rather quirky take on the issue, and one shows a horror movie scene where a wandering girl in dark woods is hacked to death by a murderer. The advertisement at the end suggests that her death, after all, was not pointless as she was an organ donor who helped others after her demise.
According to the French rules, a citizen of the country is presumed to be an organ donor, however they can express their refusal to be a donor by joining a national refusal register. If you opt to refuse, then the refusal register will be consulted after you die to make the preparations according to your wishes. Reports state that those who wish to join the national refusal register can send in a form to the Agence de la biomédecine, or use the website from January.
If a person does not want to be a donor for all organs, or only wants to donate certain organs, then they can write a signed note and give them to their family, who can pass it on to the medical team after their demise.
Other European countries like Spain and Belgium also follow this system of organ donation and are among the countries that register world's highest number of donated organs and transplants.
