“A simple yes can save thousands of lives”, underlines Marine Jeantet, director general of the Biomedicine Agency

Marine Jeantet calls for declaring oneself a donor and also intends to put an end to certain preconceived ideas about organ donation.

“A simple yes can save thousands of lives”, said Saturday June 22 on franceinfo Marine Jeantet, general director of the Biomedicine Agency, on the occasion of the national day of reflection on organ donation and transplantation. The Biomedicine Agency is launching a call for mobilization on organ donation on Saturday. “We can save between five and seven lives after death by saying a simple yes to those close to us”specifies Marine Jeantet.

franceinfo: How do you explain that organ donations are decreasing?

Marine Jeantet: There are a lot of explanations. But the main one is because people have not clearly expressed their position regarding organ donation to their loved ones. We are all presumed donors, but we have the right to object to this donation, either by registering on a register or by telling our loved ones. Doctors, when considering organ donation, always ask relatives to find out the position of the deceased.

Unfortunately, less than half of French people have clearly expressed their position to their loved ones. This means that in almost 40% of cases, these samples cannot take place even though the people were potential donors. 80% of French people are in favor of organ donation. So it is absolutely necessary to express this position to your loved ones so that this wish is respected when it needs to happen. Donor cards are not required. You are by definition a donor, unless you are opposed. So you obviously have the right to object. Just a simple yes can save thousands of lives.

Can you donate all your organs? Are some more sought after?

We are mainly looking for kidneys. There are many patients with kidney failure who are on dialysis and who have quite difficult lives. These people are desperately waiting for a donor to agree to donate their kidneys. But everything is important. We also take corneas. Please note, we are not taking from the eyes, we are just taking a small membrane. It allows people to see again. You can save between five and seven lives after your death by saying a simple yes to your loved ones.

Is there not the fear that these organs, sometimes, will be used for science?

We must not mix organ donation and body donation to science. When we talk about organ donation, when doctors come to approach families about this subject, it is only for patients. There is no experimentation on organs. It is only to save people who are waiting for a transplant.

Are there social, societal, religious reasons that explain the refusals?

We do not know. This is not expressed very clearly. But it is certain that we have opposition from families which is increasing without us really being able to explain it. This is especially in large metropolises. What we realize above all is that there are a lot of preconceived ideas. There is no age limit, there are no contraindications with funeral rites. We take great care to return the bodies in a very respectful manner towards the families. There is no opposition from the main religions in France. There are many preconceived ideas on the subject.

The main issue is that people often do not know the location of loved ones. So when in doubt, people abstain. Talking about organ donation is not talking about death. It’s talking about life because you have to think that you’re saving lives. In your life, you don’t have many times the opportunity to save between five and seven people. Through this very simple generosity, you can allow many people to continue to benefit from their loved ones themselves. We are more likely in life to one day be the recipient of an organ than to be a donor. So if you or your loved ones ever needed an organ, you would be very grateful to the people who said this simple little yes to their loved ones.