Objection solution or extended decision solution? In January 2020, the Bundestag voted on two cross-party legislative proposals to regulate organ donation. At the invitation of the Head of the MHH Transplant Centre, Prof. Axel Haverich, members of the Bundestag Ulla Ihnen (FDP) and Yasmin Fahimi (SPD) visited the MHH on two independent dates in the first week of December to find out about the situation of patients who are waiting for an organ or have already been transplanted. While Ms. Ihnen is a supporter of the extended decision solution, Ms. Fahimi tends towards the objection solution. She sees a decisive argument in favor of the objection solution in the relief it provides for relatives by allowing the potential organ donor to make a clear decision during their lifetime.

During the meeting with artificial heart patients and kidney transplant patients and their physicians, the MPs were able to get a personal impression of their hopes, hardships and the blessings of transplant medicine. Talks with MHH President Prof. Michael Manns, Prof. Rainer Blasczyk, MHH Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering and Professor Haverich provided the opportunity for in-depth discussions on organ donation and transplantation issues.

"Organ donation officer" instead of "transplantation officer"

Dr. Frank Logemann, Transplantation Officer at MHH, Clinical Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, reports on his work in the intensive care units. Following her conversation with Dr. Logemann, MP Ulla Ihnen would now like to advocate for "transplantation officers" to be renamed "organ donation officers", as this corresponds to their work.

The MPs were invited to the discussion event on organ donation organized by the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (HAZ) in October at the suggestion of Prof. Rainer Blasczyk. Members of the Bundestag Hendrik Hoppenstedt (CDU), Ulla Ihnen (FDP), Yasmin Fahimi (SPD), the MHH patient advocate Hartmut Küppers, Professor Haverich and Professor Blaszcyk took part in the panel discussion.

The MHH Transplant Centre invited all 12 members of the Bundestag representing the city and region of Hanover to an information visit. The response was muted, partly due to scheduling reasons. Some MPs pointed out that they had already made up their minds. The vote in the Bundestag is expected to take place on January 16.