In order to raise public awareness of the issue of organ donation, numerous members of the Bundestag had a joint tattoo.
Several members of the Bundestag have drawn attention to the issue of organ donation with a joint tattoo campaign in the Bundestag, as the “Zeit” newspaper reports. Under the patronage of the Federal Government’s Patient Commissioner, Stefan Schwartze (SPD), the initiative was carried out together with the “Junge Helden” association. The campaign in the Bundestag served to raise public awareness of the issue of organ donation and to make it visible.
For Schwartze himself, it was the first tattoo he got: “It will most likely remain my only one. But that is something that I identify with 100 percent and that literally gets under my skin,” the SPD politician told the German Press Agency (dpa).
Anna Barbara Sum, co-founder of the “Young Heroes” association, explained that the project was launched over a year ago and that since then around 700 tattoo studios across Germany have taken part, according to “Zeit”. The tattoos are intended to help make a person’s wishes regarding organ donation immediately visible. Until now, relatives have had to make a decision after the death of a relative if their willingness had not been sufficiently documented beforehand.
Although a tattoo can be seen as an expression of the will to donate an organ, it has no legal validity, as a spokeswoman for the Federal Center for Health Education explained to “Zeit”. Only a personal signature on an organ donor card, a living will or a written document has legal significance.
Nevertheless, in the absence of a written decision, a tattoo can serve as an expression of will and support relatives in making decisions.
Since March, it has also been possible to digitally record your willingness to donate organs in a central online register. This enables people aged 16 and over to easily document their wishes.
The German Organ Transplantation Foundation recorded an increase in organ donations last year. Around 965 people donated organs after their death, 96 more than the previous year. However, the number of people waiting for transplants remains high: almost 8,400 people are hoping for a life-saving donation.
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