Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-21-Speech-1-184"
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"en.20080421.18.1-184"2
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"Mr President, this has been a very interesting and lively debate and no wonder, given the seriousness and importance of this problem.
Now, a lot of issues have been raised. I will try to comment on some of them. Non-commercialisation of organs is a very important issue and I believe, and agree, that organ donation should be done on an altruistic and voluntary basis. That is why, of course, donor cards should be voluntary, and the same applies to the European donor card, which we intend to introduce in our action plan.
Good practices exist in some Member States and these good practices should be shared with other Member States for the benefit of all. The Commission’s directive on quality and safety will, I assure you, be flexible enough not to affect donation whilst ensuring basic requirements throughout the European Union. I also want to confirm that traceability will be included in the directive.
Consent for donation is a particularly sensitive issue, which needs to take into account local and cultural attitudes to donation and transplantation. I wish to point out, on this point, that national authorities are responsible for deciding the legal requirements and practices regarding donation consent in their own Member State and for ensuring that their citizens are aware of their rights in this area.
I would like to say that the use of stem cells from cord blood has proved to be useful for the treatment of some malignant diseases, such as cancer. The Commission supports the development of cord blood banks and the use of this technology.
I also think that it is very important that we raise awareness among European citizens, so that we encourage the increase of both live donations and donations after death, because, in this way, we shall also – as I said in the beginning – indirectly fight trafficking. In order to prevent transplant tourism, I think it is very important that citizens should be made aware of both the dangers regarding the safety and security of organs and the ethical questions that may arise. As we know, in many third countries, very poor and vulnerable people are being exploited for the purpose of organ extraction.
Finally, honourable Members, I would like to thank you once again for providing us with such a constructive report. In particular, I want to stress the fundamental aim of saving lives, whilst recognising the important scientific advances in organ donation.
I therefore look forward to continuing our close and constructive collaboration and presenting the Commission’s proposal to this House later this year."@en1
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