Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.06.2018, Qupperneq 16

16 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10 — 2018
Earlier this month, Iceland made
headlines when Parliament passed
into law a measure that officially
recognises all Icelanders as organ
donors by default, unless they spec-
ify otherwise ahead of time.
The idea is not new in Europe.
Many European countries use this
“opt-out” system, and now Iceland is
amongst them. The idea is not new
in Iceland, either. Six years ago, then
Progressive Party MP Siv Friðleifs-
dóttir submitted a parliamentary
proposal calling for the country to
take up the opt-out system.
"SÍBS [an Icelandic health care
non-profit] held a meeting at Iðnó,
and invited a bunch of politicians
to come, and I went on behalf of
my party,” she recounts. “One ques-
tion they posed to us was, 'Will you
pledge to stand for this issue?'
— to change the law so that one
is assumed to consent [to donat-
ing organs] rather than assumed
to have denied it. I started think-
ing about it, and I thought it was a
good idea, so I began looking into
it. That's how it began."
How “opting in” fails
Amongst the countries that use
the opt-out system is Austria. In a
New York Times piece from 2009,
it was brought to light that 99% of
its citizens donate their organs. By
contrast, Germany, which uses an
“opt-in” system, where people must
expressly consent to donate their
organs, only 12% did so.
The concept of the law is fairly
simple. All Icelanders will be
assumed to be organ donors by
default, with two exceptions: if the
deceased specified beforehand that
they do not want their organs to be
removed, or if the deceased said
nothing on the matter but their
closest relative objects.
Siv is not particularly worried
about the next-of-kin clause to the
law.
"This doesn't control everything,
because almost without exception,
if the next of kin knows that the
deceased wanted to donate their
organs, then the next of kin does
not object,” she says. “People want
to respect the wishes of their dearly
departed."
F u r t h e r m o r e ,
those relatives who
do give the green
light for organ dona-
tion of their loved
ones almost never
regret the decision.
"Research has
shown that next of
kin who allow their
departed's organs
to be donated feel
go o d a b o u t t h e
decision,” Siv says.
“They feel as though
their loved ones are,
in some way, living
on through other
people. It becomes
one bright point in
the death of a loved
one; that someone
else will get to live
because of their gift."
A cause for celebration
Siv has a background in the health-
care industry, being a licensed
physical therapist, and, as such, has
passionate interest in the field. So
the passage of the law came as a very
pleasant surprise to her.
"This really pleased me,” she says.
“I actually didn't expect that it would
be approved right now; I thought
for sure it would be delayed. So I
think it's great that they've finally
finished this project. When I look
back, when it first got into this
matter, I recall meeting this group
of people who had received donated
hearts, livers, kidneys and lungs.
They had fought hard for this law.
So when this law was passed, I really
took this group to heart."
Her tenure as a lawmaker has
put her in contact with many people
who have received organs, and one
young woman she met still stays
with her.
"I once heard a young woman
at a meeting of the Rotary Club in
Borgarnes, who had received a new
liver. She described that with every
breath, she felt better and better,
because the new liver was starting
to do its work. She was herself again.
You just thought, 'Wow, that was
amazing. What a gift, just the right
thing to do.'"
If you can, you should
The road to getting this law passed
was not an easy one. Siv had actually
submitted the measure as a parlia-
mentary proposal twice during her
time in Parliament (note: parlia-
mentary proposals are unlike bills;
they propose government policy, but
do not dictate its exact implementa-
tion like bills do). It even got as far
as committee the first time, which
recommended that
the government
make it into law.
When her tenure
in Parliament was
over, amongst the
works she handed
over to Progressive
Party MP Silja Dögg
Gunnarsdóttir was
this organ donor
proposal, which Silja
changed into a bill.
Now that this bill
is law, Siv believes
the real work can
begin.
"I've just always
been of the opinion
that if you can help,
you should help,"
Siv says. "There's a
general shortage of
organs in the world.
As long as people are
waiting for organs, there's always a
shortage. It used to be that we were
only receiving them, but in recent
years we've been giving them, too.
And it's very important that we can
give as much as we can."
To Be Oneself Again:
All Icelanders Are
Now Organ Donors
By Default
Siv Friðleifsdóttir shares the inspiration
for the law she submitted
Words: Paul Fontaine Photo: Art Bicnick
"I've just always been of the opinion that if you can help, you should help."
Grandagarður 7, 101 Reykjavík
“It used to be
that we were
only receiving
[organs], but
in recent years
we've been
giving them,
too. And it's
very important
that we can
give as much
as we can."