Argentina set to make everyone an organ donor

Only 287 of Argentina's 44 million people became organ donors this year. That is, until a bill well on its way to becoming a law makes every citizen a donor.

Argentina's lower house of Congress voted unanimously Wednesday to make everyone over 18 organ donors unless they opt out, Bloomberg reports. The bill had already passed the upper house unanimously and will now head to Argentina's president.

The presumed donor law is also known as the "Justina Law," named for a 12-year-old who died waiting for a heart transplant, per Argentina Reports. It's a lot like laws in France and the Netherlands that automatically place citizens on donor lists, but passed with a lot more support than the Dutch law.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Argentina currently has 7,727 citizens waiting for organ donations, Bloomberg says. The country previously tried to encourage donor registration and combat the shortage with this tear-jerking PSA about an old man and his dog.

YouTube

Watch On

Why that didn't motivate every Argentine to sign up immediately is a mystery.