Thomas is waiting for a new kidney but doubts if any law will move anything at all
DR-Inland in Denmark
Saturday, May 31, 2025 • 6:07 AM UTC - in Denmark
Thomas Munch worked as a travel agent. Now he no longer travels at all.
In 2020, he suffered from acute kidney failure. Since then, he has been undergoing dialysis at the hospital for five hours every other day to help his body clean its blood of waste products.
He fears that the new organ donation law will not improve his chances of getting a new kidney soon.
"I don't think it will make any difference at all, because the citizens themselves have to do something actively," says Thomas Munch.
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You must confirm yourself
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From June 1, all Danish citizens over 18 years old will be registered as potential organ donors in the Organ Donor Registry. This means that you are not automatically registered as an organ donor. You must click on yourself on health.dk to confirm the registration.
Here you can give permission to use all or some of your organs in the event that you are involved in an accident and your life cannot be saved.
Thomas Munch lives in Snejbjerg near Herning and is one of 434 patients who are on the waiting list for a new organ.
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> It would have been better if everyone had been forced to participate
> Thomas Munch, kidney patient
However, Thomas Munch does not believe that the law changes anything special about how one has previously signed up for the donor registry.
- It would have been better if everyone had been forced to participate and then taken an active decision to stay on the list, says Thomas Munch.
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The Association Expects Much
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In contrast to Thomas Munch, the Organ Donation Association has high expectations for the new law.
- We have fought for this for nine years. It will certainly make a big difference, says Lasse Heidelbach, who is director of the Organ Donation Association.
Lasse Heidelbach is the director of the Organ Donation Association. He believes in the law making a big difference. But he would have preferred the information campaign to have started earlier. (Photo: © Peter Langkilde, DR)
The law is described as a "soft model of active opt-out".
Politicians could also have chosen a model where one is automatically registered as a donor unless one actively opts out. But that does not make Lasse Heidelbach angry about missed opportunities:
- In England, they introduced the same model in 2020. In two years, there were ten percent more citizens who registered themselves in their donor register, explains Lasse Heidelbach.
In comparison, according to the association chairman, only one percent per year register themselves as donors in Denmark.
- So it has an effect, says Lasse Heidelbach.
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Expert Doubts Effect
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Christina Rosenlund Sørensen is the chief surgeon on the Neurosurgery Department at Odense University Hospital and has worked with organ donation since 2011.
She does not believe that it will really increase the number of organ donors.
- It doesn't change anything, says Christina Rosenlund Sørensen.
Christiana Rosenlund is the chief surgeon on the Neurosurgery Department at Odense University Hospital and an expert in organ donation. She doubts the effect of the new law and fears that it will make people think that the state has decided for them what should happen. (Photo: © (C) DR Nyheder)
The chief surgeon acknowledges that the attention on the new law will have a nudging effect – that is, we will just be reminded that we should take a position on whether we want to be organ donors.
- On the contrary, I can be concerned that the individual citizen now thinks that they do not need to take a position, because they have been registered as a donor, says Christina Rosenlund Sørensen.
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Minister Dismisses Criticism
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> The Council doubts that the change, which is being made, in itself will lead
> to significantly more organ donors.
> Christine Nellemann, chairman, The Ethics Council
At the Ethics Council, support is given to the intention of making it easier to take a position on organ donation.
But the council doubts that the change, which is being made, in itself will lead to significantly more organ donors.
- If one does not take an active position, it will, as before, be the relatives who are left with the difficult decision, says Christine Nellemann, who is chairman of the Ethics Council.
Interior and Health Minister Sophie Løhde (V) is convinced that the law change will make a difference. This is shown by experiences from abroad. And the authorities follow up with an information campaign and a letter to all Danish citizens.
- If one only passed a law and did nothing else, I could understand the concern. But that's not what's happening, says Sophie Løhde.
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It saves lives
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The travel agent, the chief surgeon, and the association chairman have all, in their own way, organ donation close to life.
One thing they are all in agreement on: It is important to take a position and confirm whether one wants to be an organ donor.
- It is important because it saves lives. I have a daughter who is 12 years old. She received a new liver when she was two and a half years old. She would not have been here if there had not been one who had taken a position and said yes to organ donation, says Lasse Heidelbach.
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Thomas is still waiting
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Thomas Munch has been waiting almost half a year for a new kidney.
Therefore, he is always extra attentive to his phone.
- It can ring at any time but doesn't really. It's good enough to be hard, says Thomas Munch.
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Law on organ donation: It is happening
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The Interior and Health Ministry sends letters to all over 18 years old from June 2 and for about 14 days thereafter. The letters will be sent out from Monday and in the coming days after
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The Health Authority starts an information campaign about the law change in the weeks after June 1, 2025
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Citizens who have not already registered their decision in the Organ Donor Registry will appear with a check in a box labeled ’full permission – not confirmed’, when they log in to health.dk/organdonation ( https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsundhed.dk%2Forgandonation&data=05%7C02%7CJIF%40dr.dk%7Ccc69b92e427d4e616a1208dd9db7cd1d%7Cfa7681ea962f4d1dad37f1279d621aed%7C1%7C0%7C638840134926090025%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=wKxv2CKWNnr6lO60bhgTCuwrm9iJ6pV6J9x1fQ%2BmLiM%3D&reserved=0 )
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If one wants to be an organ donor, one can click ’confirm’ for this registration. Otherwise, one can easily choose one of the other options such as partial permission
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If one does not confirm the registration, one's relatives will be asked for consent if organ donation becomes relevant
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Organ donation will never be taken if there is no consent from either the deceased or the relatives.
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If there is no consent, and if there are no relatives, organ donation will not take place
Source: Interior and Health Ministry
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