MEPs back Euro donor card plan

Plans for a Europe-wide organ donor card were backed by Euro-MPs today.

A report approved in Strasbourg warned that a rise in organ trafficking is being driven by a chronic shortage of organs legally available for transplant operations.

The report calls for a 24-hour EU-wide transplant hotline to be set up alongside a voluntary European card scheme which would run alongside existing national donor card systems.

The MEPs “own-initiative” report, approved overwhelmingly in a 653-14 vote, has no legal force, but EU governments are being asked to recognise the need for joint action against “transplant tourism”.

Last year the World Health organisation called for international guidelines to halt transplant tourism.