Making a choice for the first time

No, but even if you do not fill in a choice of your own, you are still registered in the Donor Register. You will then be listed as having 'no objection to donation'. This means that your organs and tissues can go to a patient after your death. You are always allowed to change your choice. This is also possible if you have not made a choice yet and are currently listed in the Donor Register with 'no objection to donation'.

Only when someone can truly no longer recover and it becomes clear that they are going to die, is a doctor allowed to check how someone is listed in the Donor Register. A doctor therefore first does everything possible to save the patient's life. The choice in the Donor Register has no influence on that.

Anyone can submit a choice in the Donor Register, even if you, for example, have an illness or live an unhealthy lifestyle.Whether someone can donate organs and tissues depends on many different things. For example, your health, age, and how someone died. Therefore, doctors can only determine whether or not you are suitable at the time of death.

Within many religions, people have an important question: does my body need to remain complete after my death, or is charity towards others more important? As a believer, you would like an answer to this question before you fill in a choice in the Donor Register. Sometimes there are multiple opinions per religion, which can even differ within branches of a religion. We therefore recommend asking these questions within your own religious community. And talking about it with people who are important to you in your faith.

No, you cannot choose yourself who receives your organs or tissues after your death. That is regulated by law. One reason for this is that everyone in the Netherlands must be able to receive the same healthcare. An organ goes to the patient on the waiting list who needs the organ the most urgently and with whom the organ is the best match.