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Swiss organ transplant register shuts down after scandal

Medical workers carries an organ transplant box in a hospital in Geneva.
A change to organ donation consent laws will result in the creation of a new type of register. © Keystone / Martial Trezzini

An online organ transplant register in Switzerland will cease operating after a probe into serious security flaws.

Swiss public television SRF found that it was possible to register people on the National Organ Donor Register (NOSR) without their knowledge.

This prompted an investigation by the data protection commissioner in January which confirmed the shortcomings and demanded changes to the system.

+ Read more about organ donation consent in Switzerland

On Thursday the Swisstransplant Foundation, which has operated NOSR since its conception in 2018, said it would shut the digital system down despite taking measures to fix its more serious flaws.

The foundation’s decision was partly influenced by a nationwide vote in May to change the concept of consent in relation to organ donations. As a result of the vote, people are now assumed to give their consent unless they explicitly state otherwise.

The vote will also trigger the creation of a new register for people who do not want to donate their organs, which will come online by 2024.

The Swisstransplant Foundation said it will inform the 133,000 people registered on NOSR of its termination. People who wish to donate organs after their death are being advised to put this in writing and informing relatives.

Last year saw 484 organ transplants from deceased people in Switzerland. But demand far outstrips supply. At the end of 2021, 1,434 people were waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and 72 people died before receiving one. 

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