Organ donation: How the entry in the online register works
More than 150,000 people have now signed up to the organ donation register. How it works.
Home page of the organ donation register
(Image: Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte)
Since March 2023, it has been possible to register online in the organ donor register. According to the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA), 151,782 people have already done so – the number of new registrations is growing daily. The entry is voluntary, can be changed or deleted at any time and serves to document one's own will to donate organs.
(Image: BZgA)
Nevertheless, it is still possible to make an analogous declaration of organ donation, for example in the living will or in the physical organ donor card, but also verbally. To be on the safe side, it is currently also recommended to document twice, as a declaration for tissue donation is not planned until 2025.
The online register for organ donations is a central database in which citizens aged 16 and over can register their willingness to donate organs. It was introduced as the centerpiece of a law passed by the Bundestag in 2020 to make it easier to declare a willingness to donate and to encourage more people to decide for or against organ donation.
Entry in the organ donor register is voluntary and can be changed or deleted online at any time. However, the information on tissue donation must currently still be documented in analog form, as the connection of officially approved commercial establishments to the register is not planned until January 2025.
ID card and PIN or health ID
In this article, you will learn step by step how to register in the online register for organ donations. Details and a video can also be found on the BZgA website. You will need either an ID card with a six-digit PIN or an electronic residence permit (eAT). Alternatively, you can also register via your health insurance company's app and your health ID, if they already offer this option. You will also need an e-mail address and a health insurance number. According to the BZgA FAQ, privately insured persons must ask their health insurance provider for a health insurance number.
Install the ID card app on your smartphone or computer Die app is available free of charge for Windows, but also in the Apple App Store, Google Play or the Huawei App Gallery. The entry works via the smartphone alone.
Via smartphone and PC
You can also use your smartphone as a card reader and connect it to your computer. Alternatively, you can also use a card reader and your computer.
(Image: BfArM)
Then open the website of the organ donor register. If you have already paired your smartphone with the ID card app, this works via the computer. You can then start the identification process after clicking on "Submit declaration".
After you have first held your electronic ID card to the NFC interface of your smartphone (or, if available, inserted your card into the card reader) and entered your PIN, you can tap on "Provider list" in the "Help" menu on the far right of the app. Using "Filter providers" and the magnifying glass, you can search for the word "organ", for example, and tap on the link "Submit a declaration in the organ donation register" or "To provider" to access the organ donation register.
Entry in the register
Once you are on the organ donation register page, you can tap or click on "Make a declaration". You must then start the identification process, if you have not already done so. To do this, you must enter your PIN and hold your ID card to the back of your smartphone. This may not work the first time because the NFC interface and smartphone have to find each other first. Then you can "try again". As soon as you see a loading bar at the bottom of your smartphone screen, hold still because you have found the right place.
Entering data
If you are suddenly addressed by your name "Hello XY" and the basic data stored on your ID card is visible, you are almost there. Click on "Continue" and enter your e-mail address and health insurance number. The e-mail address is required so that you can delete or change your data. If everything went well, you will receive a confirmation e-mail.
You can enter the following details in the organ donor register:
- Your decision for or against organ donation
- Which organs you would like to donate
- Whether the organs may only be removed for transplantation or also for research
- Contact details of a person you trust who should be informed in the event of organ donation
- An additional declaration as free text, for example on special wishes
Registration is free of charge and can be changed or revoked online at any time. Registration in the organ donor register is intended to provide clarity about your own wishes regarding organ donation and to relieve the burden on relatives in the event of an emergency. Doctors are also obliged to check the register before removing an organ and to consider the wishes documented there.
About the health insurance company
Health insurance companies, such as the AOK, offer the option of making an entry in the online register via their app for the electronic patient file. The prerequisite is that you are already using the app and have previously identified yourself with your electronic health card (eGK) or ID card.
(mack)